More residents around NSW are being told to prepare for evacuation as heavy rains and flooding continues to batter the state. 38 places across the state have been deemed natural disaster areas, NSW Premier Gladys Berejiklian announced in a press conference on Monday.
More than 18,000 people have already been evacuated since the extreme weather began on Thursday, getting worse over the weekend.
As of this morning, residents along the Colo River have been given an evacuation order, while people around the Widemere Detention Basin area and Rickabys Creek in the Clarendon area were evacuated late yesterday.
Flooding along the Colo River is expected to reach similar levels to the 1978 flood today.
Footage has shown many streets underwater, as one video captures an entire house floating away on what was meant to be the owner’s wedding day.
WATCH: 🎥 A house has been swept away by flood waters and is floating down the Manning River in Taree, NSW. 😱😱😱#NSWFloods #SydneyWeather @BOM_au @BOM_NSW @abcnews pic.twitter.com/FT8HAZVKD4
— Jai Marcus McAllister™️ (@JaiMcAllisterx) March 20, 2021
Meanwhile, students are staying at home as more than 150 schools have closed due to the flooding.
Weather forecasters predict more widespread rain today as a rain band combines with the coastal trough.
