Residents evacuated as floods hit Sydney suburbs

SYDNEY－Torrential rain pummeled Australia's east coast on Thursday with Sydney receiving nearly a month's rain overnight, turning suburban roads into rivers and triggering evacuations as authorities warned of more rain.

A man swept away by floodwaters in the city's northwest was rescued by emergency crews, media reported, while television footage showed vehicles struggling to cross waterlogged streets, along with fallen power lines and trees, and debris floating in rivers.

Residents of a nursing home were evacuated as emergency crews urged the harbor city's 5 million residents to avoid unnecessary travel and brace for possible evacuations.

"This is a highly dynamic situation. These events are moving exceptionally quickly," New South Wales emergency services acting commissioner Daniel Austin said. "Exceptionally sharp, short bursts of rain" have been creating flash flooding almost every hour, he said.

Sydney has received 1,227 millimeters of rain so far this year, more than its average annual rainfall of 1,213 mm. Many coastal towns were at risk of getting up to 180 mm, the Bureau of Meteorology said.

The tourist hot spot of Bondi recorded around 170 mm over the 24 hours to 9 am on Thursday, data showed. Thousands have been ordered to evacuate their homes while businesses cleared essentials to help mitigate their losses.

"All hands are on deck to try and save some furniture … so we have been pretty busy lifting things up …moving things away, unplugging filters and electricity, and things like that," Nicola Gilfillan, a cafe owner in Sydney, told ABC television.

Overflow from a fuel pit at a site owned by oil refiner Ampol in Sydney's south caused oil to mix with floodwaters but emergency crews said the spill has been contained and that there was no risk of danger in the area.

A severe weather warning stretched along the south coast of New South Wales state over a distance of over 600 kilometers but conditions were expected to ease from Thursday evening, the weather bureau said.

Australia's east coast summer has been dominated by the La Nina weather phenomenon, typically associated with increased rainfall, for the second straight year, with most rivers at capacity even before the latest drenching.

Agencies Via Xinhua