Floods in Australia damage thousands of homes

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Floods in Australia have hit the coastal regions of New South Wales the hardest, forcing rescuers to evacuate large numbers of people trapped in their homes. The floods are the most destructive on record, with thousands of buildings severely damaged.

New South Wales has been hit by days of heavy rain, which has caused rivers to overflow and large areas of land to be flooded. The wild water has also caught livestock by surprise and has isolated entire towns.

Prime Minister Anthony Albanese has launched clean-up efforts and assured residents that he is working closely across federal, state and local governments to ensure support is provided to all Australians affected by the floods.

The situation is still difficult in some areas and rescue workers helped more than fifty people overnight. Taree is undoubtedly one of the most affected towns, with water flooding and damaging many homes.

At its worst, the floods isolated around 50,000 people and inundated roads in Australia's most populous state. A month's worth of rainfall fell in New South Wales in three days. Coastal areas remain littered with debris and will take weeks to clean up.

The flooding also disrupted rail services as tracks were submerged. Air traffic at Sydney Airport was also partially disrupted. Two of the three runways were closed on Friday morning, delaying many flights.

Australia has been hit by a series of extreme weather events in recent years, which experts attribute to climate change.

Source:Aljazeera