MELBOURNE, Australia —
Australia reported the first fatality from days of widespread flash
flooding Saturday, despite heavy rains easing and flood levels topping out
across much of the southeast.
اضافة اعلان
Hundreds of
homeowners began a long clean-up after storm waters engulfed streets, houses
and cars across three states, with Melbourne suburbs among the worst hit.
Two very wet years
have left much of eastern Australia sodden, and floods now frequently follow
even moderate downpours.
“It was
frightening. I’ve been here for the other floods but I’ve never seen anything
like that,” 61-year-old Antoinette Besalino told AFP.
The apparent
flooding victim was a 71-year-old man who was “found deceased in floodwaters in
the backyard” of his property in the town of Rochester, a small town north of
Melbourne.
“Crews are on scene
and police are attempting to get to the property, which is currently blocked
off due to floodwater,” police said.
“The exact
circumstances surrounding the death are yet to be determined.”
As the waters
ebbed, residents were left wading through mud-caked streets, passing collapsed
fences, abandoned cars, and tree branches festooned with debris.
About 466 homes
have “above-the-floor flooding”, according to Victoria state premier Dan
Andrews. “Almost certainly those numbers will grow as we see flood waters peak
in a number of communities,” he said.
For some, the risk
is not yet over, with water still funneling into already-swollen catchments.
Evacuation orders
remain in place for dozens of communities.
“This is serious,
this is potentially very, very dangerous,” said Andrews.
Australia’s east
coast has been repeatedly lashed by heavy rainfall in the past two years,
driven by back-to-back La Nina cycles.
The east coast
flooding disaster in March — caused by heavy storms in Queensland and
New South Wales — claimed more than 20 lives.
Tens of thousands
of Sydney residents were ordered to evacuate in July when floods again swamped
the city’s fringe.
Climate change does
not cause La Nina events, but scientists believe it could make periods of
flooding more extreme because warmer air holds more moisture.
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