Sydney braced for its worst flooding in decades Sunday after record rainfall caused its largest dam to overflow and as deluges prompted mandatory mass evacuation orders along Australia's east coast.
A truck drives through a flooded road in Richmond on the outskirts of Sydney, Australia on March 20, 2021. Photo: VCG
Emergency services ordered people living in low-lying areas on the city's northwestern fringes to flee to safety, as authorities warned of a potentially "life-threatening" situation in New South Wales State.
It came after the Warragamba Dam, which provides much of the drinking water for Sydney, spilled over Saturday afternoon - causing officials to warn the downstream Hawkesbury River was expected to peak at levels not seen since 1961.
"It is one of the biggest floods we are likely to see for a very long time," Bureau of Meteorology flood operations manager Justin Robinson said.
Floodwaters had already risen in several areas, prompting mass evacuations, and officials said another 4,000 people could be told to leave their homes in the coming days.
Authorities urged residents to heed the "dozens" of official warnings in place across affected areas, with State Emergency Service assistant commissioner Dean Storey saying those in evacuation zones "must leave immediately."
People had already begun flocking to evacuation centers in towns north of Sydney on Saturday as torrential rains pummeled a vast coastal region already soaked by an unusually wet summer.
State Premier Gladys Berejiklian said the region was experiencing a "one in 100 year event" and a national disaster had been declared.