UPDATE: The NSW SES has directed people in Jamisontown, near Penrith, to evacuate by 9pm Sunday night amid ongoing rain. The original story continues below.
As any Sydneysider will tell you, the rains are indeed here. Big time. Now on Sunday, NSW Premier Gladys Berejiklian said that Western Sydney’s Hawkesbury-Napean region is facing a “one-in-50-year weather event”, which sounds extremely not good.
“[On Saturday] we were hoping it would only be a one-in-20-year-event [but] it looks like it will be a one-in-50-year event and that means, potentially, another 4,000 people may be asked to evacuate in an around the Hawkesbury Region and in parts of Western Sydney,” Berejiklian told reporters on Sunday.
Sydney saw over 110mm of rain on Sunday, which is more than double any other day this month. Penrith, for example, has even flooded to an extent not seen since 1961.
“Just to give you some context around that, it is bigger than the February 2020 flood. It is bigger than the 1988 flood. It is bigger than the 1990 flood and is bigger than the 1964 flood,” Bureau of Meteorology flood operations manager Justin Robinson said about Penrith.
“It’s one of the biggest floods we are likely to see for a very long time.”
Penrith just a tad flooded this morning. pic.twitter.com/wQKUgtUXCo
— Dean (@Deeaann0) March 20, 2021
Nepean River at Penrith rising faster than previously expected with @BOM_au predicting the river could reach 9.3m by 9pm tonight. #SydneyFloods #NSWFloods #NepeanRiverhttps://t.co/ne8Ss5uibr pic.twitter.com/wmJK2sjTgH
— Emily Kowal (@KowalEmily) March 21, 2021
Even in other parts of Sydney, the rain has been enough to keep everyone indoors for days on end.
The Bureau of Meteorology expects the shitty – and in some cases dangerous – weather to continue pummeling Sydney and the NSW coast until at least Tuesday.
Little bit of rain occurring in Sydney’s inner west. New water feature has sprung up. #NSWFloods @newscomauHQ pic.twitter.com/1Vkq3aBInC
— Benedict Brook (@BenedictBrook) March 20, 2021
Things are even worse on the NSW Mid North coast, where floods have blocked off highways, damaged homes and stranded cars. Taree, Buladelah and Port Macquarie are among the worst-hit areas.
“Regrettably, parts of the mid north coast are experiencing a one-in-100-year event, and while we don’t think things will worsen on the mid north coast, definitely conditions will continue,” Berejiklian said.
People living downstream from the Lower Mooney Dam, near Gosford, were advised to evacuate on Sunday afternoon, adding to a long list of evacuation orders around the state. You can stay up to date with which areas are being told to evacuate at the SES website.
The NSW SES and RFS have already had to make hundreds of flood rescues over the weekend, largely up the coast.
Our firefighters continue to work with @NSWSES and other emergency services during the extreme weather event in NSW. 300+ rescues performed by hundreds of firefighters in the past 48 hours including mass evacuations, water removal and retrieval of stranded people and pets. pic.twitter.com/GFnAP7zQnL
— Paul Baxter QSO (@PaulBaxterFRNSW) March 21, 2021
WATCH: 🎥 A house has been swept away by flood waters and is floating down the Manning River in Taree, NSW. 😱😱😱#NSWFloods #SydneyWeather @BOM_au @BOM_NSW @abcnews pic.twitter.com/FT8HAZVKD4
— Jai Marcus McAllister™️ (@JaiMcAllisterx) March 20, 2021
Until this shit passes, the best plan of action is to stay safe, stay warm and stay up to date about evacuation advice and weather warnings.
And no, religiously checking Bureau of Meteorology rain radar sadly won’t bring blue skies back anytime soon.
Sydney Rain Radar is going off pic.twitter.com/8H8bS4falE
— Dan Ilic (@danilic) March 20, 2021
Sydney’s copped almost 10 days of rain in a row with more to come. Hopefully that number doesn’t get too much bigger.
