SYDNEY (AP) – Heavy rain is expected to subside on Australia’s east coast, but flooding will last for days across the state of New South Wales, where 15,000 people were nervously waiting on Tuesday for potential evacuation requests.
Some 18,000 residents of Australia’s most populous state have fled their homes since last week, with warnings that the clean-up could continue until April.
New South Wales Prime Minister Gladys Berejiklian said on Tuesday that several weather fronts continued to affect large areas of the state.
Some parts of the state recorded two-thirds of their annual rainfall in less than a week.
Prime Minister Scott Morrison said the emergence of rain was expected to subside by the end of Wednesday, but “floods remain persistent for some time”
“I have been informed that the rain and flood situation remains dynamic and extremely complex,” said Morrison.
The sky is forecast to be clear in parts of Sydney and the northern coast on Tuesday.
“It is almost impossible to believe, but we will see blue skies and sun in the late afternoon in the west of Sydney and on the northern coast,” said government meteorologist Agata Imielska.
“It is very important to remember that even though we have blue skies and sun coming back, flooding will continue and the risk of flooding will continue,” added Imielska.
Morrison said the New South Wales government has already asked 1,000 defense members to help clean up after the floods.
Torrential rain stretched along the coast of New South Wales, crossing the border of Queensland in the north, and almost to the border with Victoria in the south.