Australian authorities issued fresh flood warnings and evacuation orders on Tuesday as torrential rains again flooded several parts of the country, sweeping away homes, roads and livestock in the worst rainfall in more than half a century.

According to Reuters, the national weather agency has posted weather warnings in every mainland state or territory that affected around 10 million people out of 25 million in the country.

Australian Prime Minister Scott Morrison told reporters that the rain and flood situation does remain “dynamic and extremely complex”.

Various media outlets reported no deaths so far by the floods, but thousands of people have been rescued by emergency services in recent days. About 33,000 people have been evacuated so far. 

Social media images showed entire bridges were being washed away, stranded animals and submerged homes in New South Wales (NSW), the most populous and most affected state.

In NSW, a fourth consecutive day of heavy rain was expected to combine with a coastal trough over the coming 24 hours.

“Weather conditions have worsened, and those weather conditions are likely to worsen during the day so many communities will experience increasing heavy rainfall,” said NSW Premier Gladys Berejiklian.

It is to be mentioned that Sydney’s main water supply – Warragamba Dam – began overflowing on Saturday and was expected to keep doing so for another week. A year earlier, amid drought and bushfires, the same dam fell below half its water catchment, triggering severe water restrictions. 

Though the weather system is likely to start easing from late Wednesday, officials warned affected residents “may not be able to return to their homes” immediately as incessant rains dump more water in river catchment areas. – Reuters.