Flood warnings had been given for northern New South Wales with several areas of the region already setting record-high flood levels. These warnings, though, are making their way south down the coast as the city and surrounding areas could be next hit.
Thousands have already been forced to evacuate over the past few days as the state’s authorities have put the city on notice. NSW premier Dominic Perrottet alerted residents that a severe weather warning for heavy rain and high winds was in place from Newcastle all the way to Bega. “The worst is yet to come,” he said.
Overnight, the city is expected to receive in the vicinity of 200 millimetres of rain over a six-hour period. That’s more than the equivalent of one month of rain for the city, which in March is averaged at 118 millimetres.
Steph Cooke, the state’s emergency services minister, cautioned residents in Sydney’s most flood-prone areas to prepare for what very may well come to pass.
“We have seen what has unfolded in the northern parts of the state over the past few days. The time to prepare is now – have an emergency services kit prepared with your medications, with your important documents, with your laptop computers, mobile phones and chargers, so we can as best as possible keep track of where you are, that you can contact us if you need to, but more importantly, that you can be prepared to evacuate should the need arise,” she said.
The Hawkesbury River into Richmond and Windsor as well as along the Nepean River have been listed as areas where “moderate to possibly major flooding” may occur. Furthermore, strong winds have also been predicted for the city and the state, which combined with soil erosion from the heavy rains, could lead to power outages.