"Life Threatening" Flash Floods: Thousands In Sydney Ordered To Evacuate

People had already begun flocking to evacuation centres in towns north of Sydney as torrential rains on Saturday pummelled a vast coastal region already soaked by an unusually wet summer.

Thousands of people in Sydney's outer suburbs were ordered to evacuate Sunday, as Australia's east coast was hit by record rainfall and widespread flooding. Emergency services issued the evacuation orders for several low-lying areas in the city's north-west, a day after authorities warned of potentially "life-threatening" flash floods in New South Wales state. People had already begun flocking to evacuation centres in towns north of Sydney as torrential rains on Saturday pummelled a vast coastal region already soaked by an unusually wet summer. In Taree, where television images showed one house floating down a bloated river, about 150 people slept in a local auditorium overnight that has previously been used a refuge for people fleeing bushfires.