Australia Flooding Kills 2 as Waters Continue to Barrel Downstream

 Ron Brackett

Published: March 25, 2021

Torrential rains across New South Wales and Queensland have eased, but not before at least two people died in the worst flooding in Australia in decades.

About 20,000 people have still not been able to return to their homes in New South Wales, Gladys Berejiklian, the state's premier, said Thursday.

Both of the men who died were trapped in their vehicles by floodwaters.

Ayaz Younus, 25, was driving to his first day on a new job northwest of Sydney when his car was swept into the water Wednesday morning. He remained on the phone with a rescue dispatcher for more than a half-hour before they lost contact, the Australian Broadcasting Corporation reported. Rescuers were unable to find his car when they arrived at the scene. It was finally located that afternoon.

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In the neighboring state of Queensland, the body of 38-year-old David Hornman was found in his submerged pickup truck Wednesday afternoon in the flooded Canungra Creek, ABC reported. Hornman had been missing since Monday.

That area of Queensland's Gold Coast had received nearly 18 inches of rain since Sunday, according to ABC.

The State Emergency Services in Queensland said Wednesday evening it had responded to more than 1,400 calls for help since Sunday morning.

Some areas of New South Wales received more than 23.5 inches of rain in the past seven days, according to the Bureau of Meteorology. One station in northeastern New South Wales recorded more than 39 inches.

The roof of a structure is visible as floodwater covers large areas northwest of Sydney, Australia, Wednesday, March 24, 2021.

“The NSW coast is no stranger to extreme rainfall – there have been five events in the past decade with daily totals exceeding 400 mm (15.75 inches),” Australian National University climate scientist Joelle Griggs told news.com.au. “However, the current event is unusual because of its duration and geographic extent.”

Ailie Gallant from the Monash University Climate Change Communication Research Hub told the news website, “This rain event was beyond what we were expecting.”

Australia is experiencing a relatively moderate La Niña, but scientists say rising sea surface temperatures caused by climate change may have turbocharged it this year, news.com.au reported.

The warmer water evaporates into the atmosphere, which holds onto it as long as possible, but eventually, it has to fall again. When that happens, the rain comes in ferocious bursts that can be far more damaging, which is what Australia has seen this past week.

"In recent decades, the intensity of short-duration extreme rainfall events, which are often associated with flash flooding, has increased by around 10% in some regions," according to a report by the Climate Council.

Climate Council spokesman Will Steffen told news.com.au, “The intense rainfall and floods that have devastated NSW communities are taking place in an atmosphere made warmer and wetter by climate change. For many communities dealing with floods right now, this is the latest in a line of climate change-exacerbated extreme weather events they have faced, including drought, the Black Summer bushfires and scorching heat waves.”

A man piles damaged possessions outside his house in Londonderry, a suburb outside Sydney, on Thursday, March 25, 2021, as flood-stricken residents along Australia's east coast began a massive cleanup effort following days of floods.

Even though the rain, for the most part, has stopped, officials warned that floodwaters are still moving downstream in overflowing rivers.

Australia's Prime Minister Scott Morrison has said several hundred homes have been damaged in the flooding, which also washed out roads and bridges and destroyed crops and livestock.

The Insurance Council said more than 22,000 claims have been filed for flood damage, worth about $265 million USD, ABC reported. Damages are expected to exceed $760 million, the Associated Press reported.

Some residents of Port Macquarie were able to return to their devastated homes on Thursday.

One couple told ABC it will take weeks to get rid of the mud and debris that slammed into the bottom floor of their home.

"It's hard, it's big, it's horrendous and devastating," said Mary-ann, who didn't provide her last name. "I just see so much more work to do — I'm still numb.

"We've lost pretty much everything and we'll never be back to where we were, but we are on our feet and we'll keep going from here."

The Weather Company’s primary journalistic mission is to report on breaking weather news, the environment and the importance of science to our lives. This story does not necessarily represent the position of our parent company, IBM.

The Weather Company’s primary journalistic mission is to report on breaking weather news, the environment and the importance of science to our lives. This story does not necessarily represent the position of our parent company, IBM.