Sydney: After a short reprieve from record rainfall in March, residents of Sydney and surrounding areas have been put on alert for severe weather from Wednesday April 6 morning.
The Bureau of Meteorology (BoM) forecast up to 140 mm of rain for the eastern coast of the Australian state of New South Wales (NSW) on Thursday with wet weather continuing until a weakening over the weekend, Xinhua news agency reported.
Areas north of Sydney that are still recovering from severe flooding could also be impacted. The BoM also issued a warning for flash flooding in parts of metropolitan Sydney.
BoM senior hydrologist Ailsa Schofield told local news outlet Australian Broadcasting Corporation (ABC) that due to the large amount of rainfall filling up dams and water catchments, many areas in the state were highly vulnerable to flooding.
“The catchments are very wet and it won’t take much rainfall for us to see flash flooding and river rises,” said Schofield.
“We potentially expect dangerous road conditions and the potential for further landslides.”
This warning came after two people died and two more were injured in a landslide event triggered by wet weather in the Blue Mountains west of Sydney on Monday April 4.
The Blue Mountains National Park was closed from 9:00 a.m. Wednesday as a significant rainfall event is predicted later this week.
