HEAVY rain triggered evacuation orders in Sydney, Australia, today, as swollen rivers threatened homes and flooded roads in the latest wild weather to lash the country’s east.

Residents in the city’s south and southwest suburbs have been told to leave for safety as fast-flowing rivers rise.

“We have seen exceptionally sharp, short bursts of rain that have created significant flash flooding events around parts of the Illawarra,” said New South Wales (NSW) Emergency Service deputy commissioner Daniel Austin.

“We ask the community to continue to be vigilant. This is a highly dynamic situation. These events are moving exceptionally quickly.”

Images from around the city showed submerged roads, cars struggling through floodwaters and debris flowing rapidly down rivers.

Woronora resident Belinda told national broadcaster ABC that the river is flowing faster than she has ever seen.

“A little nervous; our property’s up quite high so there is not much danger of us being flooded, but for properties that are a bit lower, it is a real worry.”

Major flood warnings have been issued for several suburbs in the south of Sydney, while the entire city of five million has been warned of potential flash flooding into the weekend.

NSW emergency services said it has responded to more than 680 calls for help from people affected by the weather so far.

The deluge is the latest to hit the region and comes less than a week after huge waves pummelled the coastline, with surf swallowing entire beaches including the famous sands of Bondi.

Large parts of the country’s east coast have been inundated by heavy rain for months. Residents in the hardest-hit areas are still recovering from floods that swept through last month.

The extreme weather, driven by the La Nina weather system and worsened by climate change, has raised further questions about the country’s disaster preparedness. – AFP, April 7, 2022.