Victoria was facing a flood emergency that caused rapid rising waters to force evacuations from Maribyrnong.
Flash floods destroyed hundreds of homes in southeast Australia and warned thousands of people to flee from the rising waters Friday.
Victoria, Australia’s 2nd most populous state, was facing a major flood emergency. The rapidly rising waters forced evacuations of Maribyrnong, a suburb of Melbourne.
The floodwaters nearly swallowed cars that were left on the streets. Some residents were left without power and needed to be evacuated with inflatable rescue boats.
The bottom floor of Anglers Tavern, a pub located on the banks of Maribyrnong River’s Maribyrnong River bank, was submerged.
Daniel Andrews, state leader, said that 500 Victoria homes were “inundated”, and another 500 were surrounded by floods. He also told reporters that emergency services had been cut off to 500 additional properties.
“That number will surely grow. Andrews announced that choppers are currently in the air making damage assessments.
Although the worst of the rain has passed by late Friday morning the state emergency service warned floods would worsen as water flows downstream to swollen river catchments.
Tim Wiebusch, spokesperson of emergency services, said that the flood crisis in Victoria is continuing to escalate.
“It is unlikely that Victoria will be spared major flooding in the next days.”
Wiebusch indicated that about 4,000 Shepparton homes, located two hours north of Melbourne could be flooded in the next week.
Andrew Crisp, the emergency management commissioner, said that the Australian Army was being deployed in parts of Victoria to help residents sandbag homes to prevent flooding.
He stated, “This emergency is major for the state Victoria.”
People would be sheltered in an abandoned Covid-19 quarantine facility that can hold 1,000 people.
‘Lives at Risk’
On Friday, flood preparations were underway in the Northern Tasmanian Islands (an island state to the south of Victoria).
A mass evacuation order was issued and 120 roads were closed due to heavy rains.
“Lives are in danger from floodwaters,” Tasmania’s state emergency service said.
A New South Wales evacuation center was created after torrential rains hit Forbes, an inland community about five hours drive east from Sydney.
According to New South Wales’ emergency service, floods in Forbes may reach their maximum Friday as water moves downstream.
In the last two years, heavy rainfall has repeatedly hit Australia’s east shore. This was due to back-to-back La Nina periods.
More than 20 people were killed in the March floods on the east coast. This was due to heavy storms that ravaged parts of Queensland, New South Wales and Queensland.
When floods in July again swamped Sydney’s suburbs, thousands of residents were told to evacuate.
While La Nina events do not occur due to climate change, scientists believe that it could lead to more severe flooding periods, as warmer air retains more moisture.
