Australia floods Thousands evacuated as downpours worsen

About 18,000 Australians have been evacuated from flooding across New South Wales (NSW) as heavy rain continues to batter the east coast.

Days of torrential downpours have caused rivers and dams to overflow around Sydney - the state capital - and in south-east Queensland.

Officials say the "one-in-a-50-year event" may continue all week and have urged the public to exercise caution.

Prime Minister Scott Morrison has offered funds for those forced to flee.

NSW Premier Gladys Berejiklian said no deaths had been reported by late Monday - describing it as "a miracle given what we have been through".

But there has been widespread damage in the affected areas, which are home to about a third of Australia's 25 million people.

In pictures: Australia's 'one-in-a-50-year' flood
Ms Berejiklian said many of the communities "being battered by the floods" had been affected by bushfires and drought the previous summer.

"I don't know any time in state history where we have had these extreme weather conditions in such quick succession in the middle of a pandemic," she said.

Emergency services have conducted at least 750 rescues, including winching people from cars. One stranded family was lifted from their flooded home by a helicopter.

Responders also saved a family with an infant from flooding in their home in Sydney's west.

Australia's Bureau of Meteorology has said the rainfall - up to 900mm in some areas - has been "extraordinary". Many areas across NSW resembled an "inland sea", the bureau said.

On Monday, authorities were most concerned about those in the low-lying areas north and west of Sydney, the NSW Central Coast and the Hawkesbury valley.

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What has happened so far?
The flooding has caused havoc across NSW, forcing 15,000 evacuations on the state's Mid-North Coast and a further 3,000 in Sydney, officials said.

Swollen rivers cut off roads and bridges and forced about 150 schools to shut on Monday.

There have been images of dead wildlife, livestock floating through flooded areas and rows of houses engulfed up to their windows.

The Hawkesbury and Nepean rivers - which border Sydney to the north and west - reached higher levels on Monday than during a devastating flood in 1961. Forecasters said the Hawkesbury river could peak at around 13m (42ft) later in the day.

In addition, the Warragamba Dam, Sydney's main water source, has began spilling over for the first time in five years. Authorities said it was discharging about 500 gigalitres a day - equivalent to the volume of Sydney Harbour.

On Sunday a young couple saw their house north of Sydney swept away by flash floods on what should have been their wedding day.

Shocked neighbours filmed the uprooted three-bedroom cottage bobbing along the Manning river after it burst its banks.

Flights have been suspended at Newcastle Airport - about 17km (72 miles) north of Sydney - after the runway flooded.

Authorities have also reported landslides and damage to homes from a mini-tornado which hit west of Sydney on Saturday.

In south-east Queensland, flash floods also affected Brisbane and the Gold Coast on the weekend. Conditions were expected to intensify into Tuesday.

How serious is the situation?
Authorities have issued 28 evacuation orders across the state, affecting several thousand people. Another 16 areas have been given warnings.

"What we're going through now is different to what you've been through for the last 50 years, so please take it seriously," Ms Berejiklian said at an earlier briefing.

"It's the sustained rainfall, the fact that weather event has settled in, it's not moving on, and also, of course, the capacity of the [Warragamba Dam] spillover and what that might mean," she added.

Jamisontown resident Ellen Brabin told ABC News that she had not seen floods as severe as this in more than 40 years.

"I've seen all the floods and stuff, and never had to move before so this is different," she said.

"The street will always go up, but this time around I've noticed that usually when the rain eases up it disappears, this time it's not disappearing like it used to," she said. "There's definitely something different about it."

There have also been warnings from meteorologists that two weather systems could collide on Monday night, creating a "last blast" of rain and storms that could last until Wednesday or Thursday.

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From fires to floods
The intense summer of rain and floods in eastern Australia is a stark contrast to a year ago, when many of the same areas were scorched by mammoth bushfires and ravaged by drought.

This side of the continent is currently experiencing a La Niña weather pattern, which typically brings more rainfall and tropical cyclones during summer.

Two of Australia's three wettest years on record have been during La Niña events. Typically a La Niña sees a 20% increase in average rainfall from December to March in eastern Australia.

Scientists say that climate change is also intensifying La Niña's impact, and making weather patterns more erratic.

A young couple in Australia's New South Wales state have seen their house swept away by flash floods on what should have been their wedding day.

Shocked neighbours filmed the uprooted three-bedroom cottage bobbing along the Manning river after it burst its banks following heavy rain.

Thousands more people in low-lying suburbs of Sydney have been told they may have to leave their homes.

The city is seeing its worst flooding in decades as the downpour continues.

Officials have warned of "life-threatening flash floods", with waters not expected to subside until Thursday.

Seven emergency shelters opened across the state as Premier Gladys Berejiklian said parts of the Mid-North Coast were experiencing a "one in 100-year event".

Warragamba Dam, Sydney's main water source, has been overflowing for the first time in years.

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What happened to the house?
Sarah Soars and Joshua Edge had been renting the cottage at Mondrook, 325km (205 miles) north of Sydney, and had been due to get married on Saturday on the river banks in front of the property.

The couple, who have been together for nine years, are staying with family and were not in the house when it was swept away.

"It literally floated like a houseboat, the whole house, fully intact," the co-owner of the property Peter Bowie was quoted as saying by Australian broadcaster ABC.

"It went so fast," he added. "It went nearly a kilometre all intact, 100%. This house just lifted up and floated down the river."

How serious is the situation?
Hundreds of people have been gathering at emergency evacuation centres set up across the state.

State emergencies officials said a number of schools in the affected areas would be closed on Monday. Residents were also asked to work from home.

Up to 100mm (four inches) of rain is forecast to fall in 12 hours over Sydney, and as much as 300mm for the lower Blue Mountains, west of the city.

Sydney residents posted pictures on social media of flooded roads and rising waters nears their homes.

Agata Imielska from the Bureau of Meteorology warned of localised intense rainfall and damaging winds, saying the public should be aware of "dangerous conditions" that could change quite quickly.

"If you don't need to travel, if you don't need to head out today, this is the day to stay at home," Ms Imielska was quoted as saying by the Sydney Morning Herald.

Some children took advantage of the rain to organise a mud slide in Newcastle.