Australia floods: more evacuations ordered as Sydney dam overflows

Emergency in New South Wales as state receives record rainfall

Sydney braced for its worst flooding in decades on Sunday after record rainfall caused its largest dam to overflow and rising water levels prompted mandatory mass evacuation orders along Australia's east coast.

Emergency services ordered residents to leave low-lying areas on the city's north-western fringes as authorities warned of a "life-threatening" situation in New South Wales state.

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  People gather on a flooded residential street, near the swollen Nepean River in Sydney, as Australia's New South Wales state experiences widespread flooding and severe weather. Reuters

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  A house is seen after a landslip took out part of its foundation, forcing the road to be closed in Shortland esplanade, Newcastle, New South Wales. EPA

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  Emergency services vehicles approach flooded residential areas in western Sydney, after residents were ordered to leave low-lying areas along Australia's east coast as torrential rains caused potentially "life-threatening" floods across a region already soaked by an unusually wet summer. AFP

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  Residents look at the overflowing Nepean river in Penrith suburb. AFP

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  People move their belongings during floods after heavy rainfall in Tinonee, New South Wales. Reuters

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  A TV crew provides coverage of the overflowing Parramatta river during heavy rain in Sydney. AFP

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  Volunteers at Penrith State Emergency Service making and distributing free sandbags to residents in Sydney. EPA

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  A car drives through a pool of water on the Northern Beaches in Sydney. EPA

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  Farmers on Grange Road in Schofield tend to the stock in flooding caused by heavy rain in Sydney. EPA

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  Heavy flooding at Cattai Creek in Maraylya, Australia. Getty Images

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  People stand at a washed out section of road at Port Stephens, 200 kilometres north of Sydney. AP

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  Children play in a flooded park in Port Stephens. AP

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  Two men sit on a bench in a flooded park in Port Stephens. AP

It came after the Warragamba Dam, which provides much of Sydney's drinking water, spilled over Saturday afternoon. Officials said the downstream Hawkesbury River was expected to peak at levels not seen since 1961.

"It is one of the biggest floods we are likely to see for a very long time," Bureau of Meteorology flood operations manager Justin Robinson said.

Floodwaters had already risen in several areas, prompting mass evacuations, and officials said another 4,000 people could be told to leave their homes in the coming days.

Authorities urged residents to heed the dozens of official warnings in place across affected areas, with State Emergency Service assistant commissioner Dean Storey saying those in evacuation zones "must leave immediately".

People began flocking to evacuation centres in towns north of Sydney on Saturday as torrential rains pummelled a vast coastal region already soaked by an unusually wet summer.

State Premier Gladys Berejiklian said the region was experiencing a "one in 100 year event" and a national disaster had been declared.

In Taree, where television images showed one house floating down a bloated river, about 150 people sheltered in a local auditorium that was previously used a refuge for people fleeing bushfires.

Club Taree chief executive Paul Allen said the floods were a "catastrophe", telling public broadcaster ABC that some locals had "lost everything".

The Bureau of Meteorology said the wild weather was forecast to re-intensify north of Sydney on Monday before easing later in the week.

Conditions were "going to be treacherous yet again", senior climatologist Agata Imielska said.

Rainfall records were forecast to continue tumbling in the coming days, she added.

Emergency services reported receiving more than 7,000 calls for help and carrying out about 650 flood rescues since Thursday, with reinforcements being called in from other states.

The rain and floods are expected to delay the already halting roll-out of coronavirus vaccines in Sydney and surrounding areas.

Australia is due to begin the first major public phase of vaccine distribution on Monday, although the programme has slipped behind the government's announced timetable because of supply and delivery issues.