Renewed flooding in New South Wales
Australia’s eastern sea board is preparing itself for further flooding after heavy rain and strong winds swept across three states on Friday evening. The town of Broken hill in New South Wales was amongst the worst places hit by the storm, which gusted winds of up to 75 miles per hour (120km/h) and left a trail of destruction.
More than 115mm (4.5 inches) of rainfall has been recorded in the town of Coonabarabran since Friday afternoon (GMT) when thunderstorms tore through the area. In New South Wales, the rain in the central west has far exceeded the monthly average. A spokesman from the Bureau of Meteorology said “you will probably find two or three times the average monthly for that part of the world.”
Despite the recent floods, the continuous rainfall has done little to alleviate the drought, with nearly 70% of New South Wales still being drought declared. Flood warnings still remain in effect for much of the state as the storms travel towards the eastern coast over the weekend.
