Sydney, Aug 20
Millions of residents of the Australian state of New South Wales (NSW) were on Wednesday told to prepare for possible flooding as a severe wet weather system hit the country's east coast.
Authorities in NSW on Wednesday issued heavy rainfall warnings for communities along almost 1,000 km of the state's coastline, including Sydney.
The Bureau of Meteorology (BoM) said that the significant rain event driven by three separate weather systems was expected to bring isolated rainfall totals of up to 75 millimetres on Wednesday night, followed by up to 120 millimetres on Thursday and another 60 millimetres on Friday.
Addressing a press conference on Wednesday afternoon, NSW State Emergency Service Deputy Commissioner Debbie Platz said that some communities that have been hit by heavy rainfall in recent months could experience flooding overnight.
She said that water from previous severe rainfall events made flooding more likely and warned residents that complacency is a risk.
"This year we have seen significant weather events, significant flooding and a lot of damage. We know the community is tired and volunteers are tired," Platz said.