Aerial view of the February 28 flood in Lismore, New South Wales. BRADLEY RICHARDSON / AFP
More than 200,000 people had to evacuate their homes in the state of New South Wales, on the east coast of Australia, to escape the muddy waters that for more than a week overflowed rivers and rivers in a strip of several hundred kilometers along the Pacific coast. According to a preliminary report, fourteen people died. This figure may increase, as more rain is expected this weekend and the ground is already wet everywhere.
Friday, March 4, due to the danger of thunderstorms and flash floods, Queensland authorities further north, asked part of the population to stay at home. The day before, they had already called on parents of students to pick up their children from schools as soon as possible. “This is a serious situation. These are unprecedented times. I lived in Brisbane [la capitale du Queensland] almost all my life and I have never seen storms and floods like these “, at said State Prime Minister Anastasia Palashchuk.
Read also Article reserved for our subscribers. Climate: COP26 gives birth to a mixed agreement
It was in this area that the situation began to deteriorate seriously on Sunday, February 27, when the “rain bombs”, in the words of the head of government, fell from the sky. In just three days, Brisbane received 80% of its annual rainfall. The most affected areas registered up to 400 millimeters of water in twenty-four hours. The “muddy army”, the volunteers who would start work on clearing and cleaning, were ordered to wait until Saturday before intervening due to the “instability” of weather conditions.
Open dump
In the state of New South Wales, bad weather first affected the Queensland border region, especially the town of Lismore, where residents, surprised by the speed of rising waters, sometimes had no choice but to tear open their roofs to get out of flooded houses. second floor and wait there for help to finally intervene. Helicopter operations have been significantly delayed due to storm violence. Several people died after failing to escape in time. Friday the city, which had never experienced such a catastrophe, looked like a huge open dump with streets littered with garbage, broken furniture, and overturned cars. Not far from there, the city of Mulimby remained cut off from the world.
You have 34.9% of this article left to read. The following is for subscribers only.