In yet another example of the worsening of the climate crisis in Australia, large parts of New South Wales (NSW) remained under water as the region was struck by what is being called a “once in a 100 years flood” earlier this week. The government has now declared it a natural disaster, and new evacuation orders are being issued.

According to the Bureau of Meteorology, New South Wales, “Rain along the NSW coast has been extraordinary over the past week. Some locations around Port Macquarie on the Mid North Coast have seen almost 900 mm in the almost 6 days from 9 am Tuesday to 3 am Monday, including 883 mm at Redoak and 880 mm at Comboyne Public School.” For Monday, it forecasts, “A Severe Weather Warning for HEAVY RAINFALL continues into Monday. In the east, the Mid North Coast and Northern Rivers will once again be in focus. Further west, heavy rain will develop across the inland from Monday morning.” Flood warnings have been issued for Hawkesbury, Napean, Hastings and Camden Haven rivers.

Emergency services have been working round the clock to assist in evacuations, search and rescue operations.

Schools will also remain shut in NSW, Australia’s most populous state, due to prevailing extreme weather conditions. As per an official government statement, “Currently, there are about 137 schools that will be non-operational for onsite learning tomorrow (Monday March 22).” It further said, “The conditions have resulted in some schools requiring maintenance and repair. The Department of Education is assessing the extent of the damage and has started the clean-up to ensure that the school can be returned to normal operations as soon as possible. Given the continuing bad weather, it may take a little while to understand the extent of the damage.”

Feature image courtesy Fire and Rescue, NSW via their official Twitter account.