Australia | Tens of thousands urged to flee floods

(Grafton) Deadly floods rolled down Australia’s eastern coast on Tuesday, forcing residents to take shelter on rooftops and bridges and prompting authorities to tell tens of thousands of people to evacuate.

In total, more than 150,000 people are affected by the evacuation orders, according to an AFP count.

Flood alerts have been issued for dozens of rivers across the states of Queensland and New South Wales, where a “rain bomb” dumped a meter of water in a week in some areas.

Several rivers have already burst their banks and flooded cities, forcing residents to flee or seek refuge at heights.

“We’ve seen people stranded on rooftops for hours, we’ve seen children being rescued, we’ve seen people stranded on bridges,” said New South Wales Premier Dominic Perrottet.

Thousands of people were rescued and eight people died. The authorities fear a heavier toll.

In a spectacular rescue broadcast live by ABC, a helicopter crew came to pick up two people from the corrugated iron roof of their house, licked by a stream of muddy water.

In Lismore, nine people were missing in what is the worst flooding in the town’s history.

Local MP Janelle Saffin had to swim to safety after being stranded by floodwaters.

Emergency services were overwhelmed with calls and a flotilla of makeshift boats appeared, with local residents trying to get their neighbors to safety.

Refuges have been established in primary schools, summer camps and retirement clubs.

Near the town of Grafton, the water came up to the level of the roofs of the buildings, the roads were washed out and the cattle wandered abandoned.

Further south, residents of Sydney were experiencing another day of downpours and were being urged to prepare for “major flooding”.

Australia has been hit hard by climate change: droughts, deadly bushfires, Great Barrier Reef bleaching events and floods are becoming more frequent and intense due to the evolution of the global climate.