About 39 emergency weather warnings are still in place in Australia, as rains are expected to continue into mid next week.
About four people have died in this week’s floods and reports from the SES and emergency services, including the VRA, PolAir, New South Wales Police, indicate there were at least 678 flood rescues, in the last 24 hours.
Speaking at a press conference held in Maitland, on Friday, the 23rd May, Chris Minns, Premier of New South Wales, said rescue efforts were “an amazing, heroic logistical effort where in very difficult circumstances, many volunteers put themselves in harm’s way to rescue a complete stranger. And over the coming days and weeks, we will hear scores of stories of locals being plucked out of impossible, desperate situations. So, of course we mourn the people that have passed. But I do think it’s important to say without the SES, without the volunteers, we would have had hundreds of deaths. And we’re in deep, deep gratitude to those people who volunteered their time or work for emergency services, Fire and Rescue, New South Wales Police, the RFS and the other emergency services.”
The Bureau of Meteorology in Australia said a low pressure trough is heading to areas in the north western parts of the country.
Wet weather is expected to continue in the Northern Territory on Tuesday.
Areas like Kimberley, are expecting between 100 and 200 millimetres of rainfall, between Friday and mid next week.
Authorities continue to watch areas where flood warnings were issued, including West Kimberley, Fitzroy Rivers and the Sandy Deserts catchment.
Photo credit: Lesley McDonald – Bellwood Park via the Bureau of Meteorology, Australia.