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Tuesday, March 19, 2024

Heavy rain causes flooding in drought-stricken Australia

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Heavy rain causes flooding in drought-stricken Australia
Heavy rain causes flooding in drought-stricken Australia

Heavy rain caused flooding along the eastern coast of Australia on Thursday, with New South Wales and Queensland seeing rivers and creeks overflowing, indundating roads and homes.

Emer McCarthy reports.

The New South Wales town of Nana Glen was drenched by a deluge of floodwater on Thursday (February 13) as homes were inundated by a downpour.

Emily Campbell lives in the Australian town - nearly 400 miles north of Sydney.

(SOUNDBITE) (English) WITNESS, EMILY CAMPBELL, SAYING: "I looked out there and it was like a tsunami.

It wasn't even raining, it was just sprinkling and it just poured through, and we dropped the phone and everyone sprinted out to get the horses, and by the time we were in the paddock it was chest deep.

And by the time we got the horses back it was in the house and we didn't have time to put anything up and everything sort of got wet.

We have put it up since, we have a mattress upstairs, but that's about it." Once in the midst of crippling drought, the New South Wales Deputy Police Commissioner, Gary Worboys warned there would be more rain over the coming days.

(SOUNDBITE) (English) NEW SOUTH WALES DEPUTY POLICE COMMISSIONER, GARY WORBOYS, SAYING: "Many places welcome the rain and it is a blessing in the terms of the drought have been experiencing.

What we will see again, you know, over the next few days is further rains up and down, particularly the East coast and with that we just want to make sure that people heed the warnings, that they make good choices and decisions." A category two cyclone, named Uesi, is also travelling towards Lord Howe island - a UNESCO world heritage site some 370 miles off the New South Wales coast.

It will bring strong winds and further rain.

Several days of downpour across the east coast have brought some relief after months of devastating bushfires and year of drought, which contributed to a horrific fire season that has killed 33 people and an estimated 1 billion native animals since September.

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