Australia – Storms Trigger Floods in New South Wales

Severe thunderstorms brought heavy rain and strong winds to parts of New South Wales, Australia, from 23 October 2020.

Floods in New South Wales, Australia, late October 2020. Photo: NSW SES

Flooding and wind damage disrupted traffic. Power supply was interrupted in some areas. New South Wales State Emergency Service (SES) said crews carried out 6 flood rescues across the state, mostly drivers in vehicles stuck in floodwaters.

SES said it received over 500 requests for assistance over the weekend, ranging from fallen trees, damaged roofs and floods in various parts of the state due to storms and heavy rain. The worst of the flooding was in a small town in Tumbarumba.

The heavy rain has continued. On 26 October, Australia’s Bureau of Meteorology (BoM) said “A low pressure trough sitting off the coastline has brought continuous rainfall overnight with observations of 192mm at Mt Elliot, 129mm at Williamtown and 128mm at Gosford.”

The stormy weather affected other parts of the country, with BoM reporting more than 2.24 million lightning strikes in 48 hours to 25 October. Most of the lightning occurred over Queensland, New South Wales and Northern Territory. More storms and heavy rain were forecast for the coming week.

Lightning strikes across Australia, 23 to 25 October 2020. Image; Australia Bureau of Meteorology (BoM)

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