Damage in Sydney
The State Emergency Service reported that it had received nearly 7,400 calls for help as of Sunday evening, including 1,940 in the past 24 hours alone. Those calls for help are expected to continue, and rescue operations continued gearing up Monday in Sydney after rain made rivers swell and overflow their banks.
The rainfall has been so heavy that officials said Warragamba Dam, the main source of water for the city, is spilling over for the first time in years. Among the reports of damage from the Sydney suburbs include a young couple who said that their three-bedroom house was swept away by flash floods on Saturday, the day they were supposed to be married.
“I’ve been a flood forecaster with the bureau for 20 years and this is probably the worst flooding that I’ve experienced,” Bureau of Meteorology national flood services manager Justin Robinson told the AP.
