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Australia’s east coast will be ravaged by torrential downpours, hail and flash floods as rain-weary residents brace for ‘tough days to come’.
New South Wales, Queensland and Tasmania will face heavy rain and thunderstorms, and the miserable weather is expected to continue next week.
Residents in northeast and southeast NSW near the border with Victoria will be particularly affected by the deluge with dozens of towns on the lookout.
NSW Emergency Services Minister Steph Cooke said emergency services were “literally sandbagging the state” ahead of the “high-impact rain event”.
“There isn’t a part of New South Wales that I don’t worry about. It is important that everyone remains alert,” she told reporters on Saturday.
NSW, Victoria, Queensland and Tasmania will be ravaged by torrential downpours and thunderstorms as a slow-moving low-pressure system continues to wreak havoc
NSW’s Emergency Services Minister Steph Cooke (above) said emergency services were ‘literally sandbagging the entire state’ in anticipation of a ‘high-impact’ rain event
Up to 30,000 sandbags have been distributed in flood areas as emergency services prepare for an ‘extremely busy’ 24 to 48 hours.
The NSW SES has issued 121 active flood warnings with nine major warnings for Lismore, Moree, Tamworth, Moama, Condobolin, Gunnedah and Warren.
Residents of Lismore will once again brace themselves for major flooding after the blighted town in northeastern NSW suffered two monstrous floods earlier this year.
Residents in parts of Moree and Carroll Village near Gunnedah were urged to vacate their homes on Saturday as they risk being inundated by ‘dangerous flooding’.
Those living on several streets in southwestern Narrandera, in the Riverina region, have been ordered to vacate their homes before 6 p.m. Sunday.
Forecasters warn there is a potential flood risk for the Hawkesbury-Nepean, Lower Hunter and Colo rivers on Monday and Tuesday.
On the north coast, Byron Bay is expected to receive 60 to 80mm on Sunday and Coffs Harbor up to 50mm as a system moves south from Queensland.
Up to 200 defense personnel will be deployed in Dubbo, Moree and the Northern Rivers, in addition to 100 already in the Central West and 50 in the Hunter region.
ADF staff hand out sandbags in Shepparton on Monday as floods ravaged Victoria
East coast residents were told to prepare for the worst as heavy downpours are expected to continue well into the next week (pictured, Sydneysider in the rain)
Residents of Lismore (pictured above in March) have been told again to prepare for severe weather and possible flash flooding after two major floods this year
In Queensland, heavy rain continues to plague the south east before the system heads offshore and then south into north east NSW on Sunday.
Severe thunderstorms and flash flooding are possible for the Sunshine Coast with forecasts of up to 300mm of rain for the Gold Coast, Wide Bay and Burnett areas.
An emergency warning has been issued for Brisbane for heavy rainfall, thunderstorms and flash flooding for the next 48 hours.
Residents were instructed by the municipality to ‘prepare your house, warn neighbors and be careful while driving’.
Those in Gympie, Noosa and the Fraser Coast have been told to secure their belongings and stay off the road amid flash flood warnings.
Queensland Fire and Emergency Services have issued a warning to residents of Redlands Municipality who are at risk of flash flooding over the next two days.
“Stay vigilant by monitoring the local media and the Agency’s website,” QFES urged all residents of Queensland on Saturday afternoon.
A major flood warning remains in effect for the Macintyre River as the major flood level is expected to reach more than 8.5 meters in Goodiwindi on Saturday evening.
A driver was rescued after their car was swept off the causeway on Friday at the Bauple Drive-Bruce Highway exit in the state’s Fraser Coast Region.
A resident of Forbes, in the central western region of NSW, walks along a flooded road after heavy rain led to flash flooding in the city on Monday
Victorians continue to battle rain (above) with severe weather warnings across the state
Regional Victoria has been hit by widespread flooding, with Shepparton mainly affected (pictured, flooding in Shepparton on Tuesday)
Tasmanians have also been warned to brace themselves for wild weather, with a flood watch actively monitoring the rivers to the north, as well as the Derwent River and Coal River.
Tasmania SES Acting Director Leon Smith told residents to expect moderate rain at night in the northwest and northeast, especially in the higher elevations.
“Greater falls are possible in the western strata and surrounding areas,” he said. ‘There is also a chance of afternoon thunderstorms in the southwest today and tomorrow in the north and northeast, which can lead to isolated heavy rainfall.’
The low-pressure system behind it will continue to develop in the coming week.
The SES expects Monday and Tuesday to be the wettest days in the state.
In Victoria, the flood crisis continued to worsen despite decreasing rainfall, with the Murray River on track to reach record high water levels. Water levels are now at the same level as during the last major flood in 1993.
Tim Wiebusch, chief operations officer of Victoria SES, warned that river levels were rising at a rapid pace and said emergency services were monitoring the affected areas.
Sky News Weather meteorologist Alison Osborne has warned that wild weather could get worse with the possibility of an east coast low over the weekend (pictured, flooding in Echuca, Victoria, on Monday)
Heavy downpours over the past week have led to flooding in NSW, including Forbes
‘We are currently seeing water levels around 94.75 m [mark] up the Murray River as far as Echuca this morning,” he said.
‘We expect the peak to occur in the night from Sunday to Monday, around 95 meters. We also keep a close eye on the Kerang community. The water level is at 77.92 m as it rises to a top of 78 m.’
Residents of the northern Victorian town of Kerang are told it’s too late to leave, but the community is holding out on rising waters.
A bridge connecting the city to the Murray Valley Highway has been closed since Wednesday night, prompting warnings that people could no longer evacuate.
The SES has received more than 8,300 calls for help since the storm began and more than 750 flood-related rescue requests.