Australian East Coast for ‘biggest flood in history’ users misinformed: Google pays $392 million to US states

Large parts of the Australian state of New South Wales on the east coast are flooded again after repeated heavy rainfall. Emergency services are facing “the largest flooding operation in the state’s history,” Australian broadcaster ABC reported Tuesday. More and more rescuers and volunteers from around the world would join the rescue teams, especially from New Zealand, Singapore and the US.

“We have volunteers from all over the world when it comes to fighting wildfires, but as far as I know this is their first time coming for floods. And I want to thank them,” said the region’s prime minister, Dominic Perrottet.

West of the metropolis of Sydney, more than 200 people have been rescued from the floods since Monday. Many had fled to the roofs of their houses. The rescue teams were also deployed with helicopters.

Evacuation orders were issued in the Forbes community on the Lachlan River on Tuesday, ordering residents to evacuate their homes immediately after the water rose rapidly. It is the second devastating flood in two weeks. “People are shocked,” Mayor Phyllis Miller said. “You can’t believe this can happen twice in such a short time.”

Huge bodies of water poured out of the Wyangala Dam above the Lachlan River – about 320 kilometers from Sydney. On Monday alone, 230,000 megaliters per day fell from the dam into the river, it said. Video images show how trees and plants are swept away by the water. A 9News spokeswoman said the scenes resembled a massive tsunami.

New rainfall and flooding have caused despair on Australia’s east coast for months. Many people have lost everything. Many animals are said to have died in the floods. In addition to New South Wales, the states of Queensland, Victoria and South Australia were also recently affected. The country in particular is suffering from the effects of climate change. A February 2022 report by the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) estimates Australia will be hit even more often by devastating natural disasters in the future. (sda/dpa)