Intense Flash Floods Leave Small Australian Town in Ruins, Sweeping Houses and Cars

Following flash floods that engulfed a small Australian town, entire structures have been torn from their foundations. Disaster management experts on Wednesday referred to the inundation as a catastrophic "wall of water."

Intense Flood

On Monday, the town of Eugowra, located approximately 350 kilometers (220 miles) west of Sydney, was flooded. However, it has been hard to determine the degree of damage because of the mud-brown waters.

Due to back-to-back La Nina episodes, Australia's east coast has seen torrential rainfall on many occasions during the previous two years.

Immediate Response

Response teams were returning to the 800-person hamlet, said Steve Hall, spokesperson for the New South Wales State Emergency Service.

He remarked, "Everything they cherish has been carried away in a wall of water. All their belongings are soaked in water and mud; they must go back and start again, working through all the grieving, loss, and rage processes."

On Monday evening, when floodwaters reached their highest point, stranded inhabitants clung to roofs before being winched to safety by rescue aircraft.

According to local MP Andrew Gee, cars swept away in the floodwaters were "scattered" over the area, and some structures had been "picked up from their foundations and washed down streets."

The nation's leading broadcaster, ABC, reported that the locals "talk about a tsunami coming at them."

He remarked, "Everything they cherish has been carried away in a wall of water."

"All their belongings are soaked in water and mud; they must go back and start again, working through all the grieving, loss, and rage processes."

On Monday evening, when floodwaters reached their highest point, stranded inhabitants clung to roofs before being winched to safety by rescue aircraft.

According to local MP Andrew Gee, cars swept away in the floodwaters were "scattered" over the area, and some structures had been "picked up from their foundations and washed down streets."

The nation's main broadcaster, ABC, reported that the locals "talk about a tsunami coming at them."

Following significant rainfall on Sunday night, the Wyangala Dam breached its banks, releasing some 230,000 megalitres into water catchments close to Eugowra on Monday.

As the floodwaters flowed down the overloaded river system, Forbes, a town located approximately 40 kilometers (25 miles) west of Eugowra, was evacuated.

Following Tuesday night's flooding at the Plainsman Motel in Forbes, about 14 people needed rescued.

Getting More Frequent

It was the second time in the last two weeks that Forbes had to be evacuated due to water.

More than 20 people lost their lives in a catastrophic flooding tragedy on Australia's east coast earlier this year due to powerful storms.

When floods once more inundated the city's outskirts in July, tens of thousands of Sydney residents were told to leave.

Because warmer air stores more moisture, climate scientists think that catastrophic flooding events might become more common.

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