Rainy New South Wales Nightmare

NSW residents are gearing up for a long night of downpours, but some mitigation is underway.

NSW Emergency Services had conducted six rescues over 24 hours and responded to 330 rescue calls as of Saturday afternoon.

Towns and lands were blocked by flash floods, and roads across the state were closed due to conditions.

Jane Golding of the Bureau of Meteorology said rain would intensify through Saturday east of the Great Divide into early Sunday morning, with a system of storms causing heavy rains moving from the west of the state to the coast.

It is forecast to start easing by noon and clear skies early in the week.

fast moving system

“The good news is that this system is moving pretty quickly, so we should have a few days to spare,” Golding said.

New South Wales Prime Minister Dominic Perrotet urged people to stay safe, drive carefully on roads and avoid driving in flood waters.

“Don’t risk your life, don’t risk your family, don’t risk your volunteers.

63 flood warnings have been issued and residents across NSW, including Sydney, have been told to stay informed of the situation in their area.

Four defense helicopters were on standby from 6 p.m. on Saturday in response to a request for additional assistance from state officials.

Parts of New South Wales had received up to 100mm of rain by Saturday night, leaving rivers prone to flash floods due to full dams and saturated catchments.

Major flooding is occurring in the Macquarie, Darling, Kalgore and Lachlan rivers, threatening to inundate multiple inland watersheds and causing forecasters to worry about potential landslides.

and strong winds

Destructive winds are likely across Sydney and along the Illawarra coast through Sunday, with maximum gusts exceeding 90 km/h.

Supercar enthusiasts camping at Bathurst 1000 have been warned of potentially dangerous storms over the weekend.

Organizers canceled one of Saturday’s racing events, and bad weather disrupted drivers at the Mount Panorama Track.

Sunday’s race is still on track.

Up to 100mm can drenching tens of thousands of participating fans and trigger flooding along the Macquarie River in Bathurst.

The town provides free sandbags and volunteers check in residents and tourists camping on the riverbank.

Perrottet said participants should take care of each other when they go home on Sunday.

Rivers of concern

As the flood peaks move down the state’s already swollen rivers, the BOM drains the Gwydir, Namoy, Macquarie, Belbra, Mundajerry Creek, Lachlan, Bogan, Koro, Wollombi, It warns of new risks in the Lower Hunter River. .

New South Wales SES Commissioner Carlene York called on people to stay vigilant in the coming week.

“It’s important to remember that the rain will stop and the sun will come out, but rivers may still be swollen,” she said.

Emergency Services Minister Steph Cook said New South Wales is just eight days into the storm season and floods are affecting local, regional and remote communities.

“It will be for weeks, actually months,” Cook said.

-AAP