Around 50,000 urged to evacuate in flood-hit Australia

ANKARA

Around 50,000 people have been asked to evacuate their homes after floods hit Australia’s New South Wales state.

In a statement on Tuesday, Federal Emergency Management Minister Murray Watt said that the flooding has resulted in a large number of evacuations throughout Sydney, Hawkesbury, and the Central Coast, with major flood operations still ongoing.

The government has activated emergency funding support in affected areas to help people who have been displaced.

"These are uncapped payments, they are demand-driven and they will be available for anyone who qualifies," Watt told ABC News.

"We have seen some of these impacted communities being hit by flood for a third and fourth time in 18 months, which is extremely distressing to the residents of these communities," said the minister.

The statement came as rain continues to bucket down on NSW on Tuesday, with authorities urging residents to stay vigilant of flash flooding as rivers continue to rise, the broadcaster reported.

Meanwhile, the NSW Bureau of Meteorology issued a fresh warning of more rains and floods in several areas, including Tuggerah Lake, the Macquarie River, and Narromine River, and asked people to shift to evacuation centers.

"Heavy rainfall which may lead to flash flooding may develop across the Mid North Coast and southeastern areas of the Northern Tablelands later this evening, continuing through Wednesday and easing late Wednesday,” said the Bureau of Meteorology.

The latest floods in New South Wales are the fourth in the last 18 months.

In March, at least 12 people died and hundreds of properties were damaged due to heavy flooding.

* Writing by Islamuddin Sajid