Sydney struck by flooding - thousands evacuated from Australia´s largest city

Thousands of people have been ordered to evacuate their homes in Australia's largest city Sydney and the surrounding areas. Huge torrential rains swept across the southeastern part of the country earlier in the week. 

"This is a life-threatening and urgent situation," said Steph Cooke, government official at the state of New South Wales.

In a short time, 200-350 millimeters of rain has fallen in some places and the water masses in the five million city of Sydney are described as very dangerous. The next 24 hours will be crucial, according to the authorities.

"We face dangers on several fronts, floods, flooded rivers and erosion along the coasts. Be prepared to evacuate at short notice if you know your area could be easily flooded", says Emergency Services Secretary Steph Cooke.

In the last 24 hours, the rescue service has received 1,400 emergency calls from people who needed help and at least 29 have been needing rescue from the high water levels.

As recently as March this year, about 20 people died when parts of Australia's east coast were hit by major floods, including Sydney and the city of Brisbane.

Cover Photo (Above). Photo from the flooding of Sydney Street Ferry Terminal in Brisbane, 2011. Photo provided by Brisbane City Counsil.