Tens of thousands of people have been evacuated from their homes in Australia’s largest city as 12 months of rain fell in three days causing severe floods.
A national disaster has been declared in Sydney, New South Wales, as a storm cell brought havoc to the region.
Some regions have faced a deluge of 31.5 inches of rain since Saturday, eclipsing the nation’s annual average rainfall of around 20 inches.
The Nepean river is threatening to burst its banks while Sydney’s dam is also starting to spill, causing a nightmare for local services.
Wind speeds have increased to more than 50mph, adding the danger of falling trees and power lines to flooded areas.
In response to the disaster 50,000 people have been ordered to either evacuate their home or be prepared to get out should the danger continue.
New South Wales Premier Dominic Perrottet said: “This event is far from over.
“Wherever you are, please be careful when you're driving on our roads.
“There are still substantial risks for flash flooding."
Prime Minister Anthony Albanese, who returned Down Under today after a week-long trip to Europe, announced he would tour the affected regions on Wednesday along with Perrottet.
Terrifying footage shared on social media showed homes, roads and businesses submerged under water.
Emergency services are being kept on alert to help save people trapped in their vehicles while the heavy rain also caused power outages to thousands of homes.
Stephanie Cooke, emergency services minister for the state of New South Wales, said response teams were called to 83 flood rescues in the last 24 hours.
She added: “This is a life-threatening emergency situation.
"We are now facing dangers on multiple fronts - flash flooding, riverine flooding and coastal erosion.
“It unfortunately shows that people aren't necessarily heeding the advice that we continue to put out multiple times a day in relation to this flooding event," Ms Cooke said.
"I'm respectfully asking people to avoid non-essential travel at this time."
Nigel Myron, a Windsor resident, told ABC he has kept an inflatable boat ready if he had to evacuate.
He added: “At the end of the day, what can you do?
“It is what it is and we dust ourselves off from the ashes and rebuild after the
floods have come and gone.”
The Insurance Council of Australia, which declared the floods a 'significant event', urged affected people to apply for claims, even though the full extent of damage is currently unknown.
Sydney has been battered by several flooding emergencies in the last 18 months.
In March 20 people were killed as alarming water levels caused nearly £5 billion of damage.
