Photos: Heavy rains on Australia’s east coast bring worst floods in 50 years
Heavy rains along Australia's east coast over the weekend have resulted in the worst flooding in half a century, forcing thousands to evacuate and damaging hundreds of houses. Television and social media footage showed fast-moving water unmooring houses, engulfing roads, breaking trees and damaging road infrastructure. Emergency services estimate the total number of damaged houses to be in the hundreds. The extreme weather has also affected Australia's Covid-19 vaccine delivery to across New South Wales, disrupting the country's plans to deliver the first doses to almost 6 million people over the next few weeks.
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People stand at a washed-out section of road at Port Stephens, 200 kilometres north of Sydney on March 20. Record rains over the weekend have brought about the worst flooding in half a century in some areas, authorities said on March 21, forcing thousands to evacuate and damaging hundreds of houses, Reuters reported.(Mark Baker / AP)
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A screengrab from a video shows a flooded area following heavy rains in Port Macquarie, New South Wales on March 20. New South Wales Premier Gladys Berejiklian said the downpour across the state, Australia's most populous with 8 million people, was worse than initially expected, especially for low-lying areas in Sydney's northwest.(Alex McNaught via REUTERS )
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Vehicles are blocked by a flooded river at Old Pitt Town north-west of Sydney on March 21. People in parts of Sydney's northwest were ordered to flee their houses in the middle of the night as fast-moving waters caused widespread destruction.(Mark Baker / AP)
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Residents wade through floodwaters with their belongings in Sydney on March 21. Another 1,000 people were asked to evacuate on March 21, after Berejiklian said that some 4,000 people may be asked to leave their houses, Reuters reported.(Loren Elliott / REUTERS)
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