Flash floods destroy hundreds of homes in southeast Australia

Flash floods have destroyed hundreds of homes in Australia’s southeast region, with thousands of people being warned to stay away from raging rivers and raging waters threatening cities in three separate Australian states.

According to Press TV, a major flood emergency has been issued in Victoria, Australia’s second most populous state, where rapidly rising waters have forced the evacuation of the Melbourne suburb of Maribyrnong.

Cars that were left on the streets of the suburbs were almost completely swallowed by the flood, while some residents of the area had to use inflatable rescue boats to escape the flood.

State leader Daniel Andrews told reporters on Friday that 500 homes in Victoria had been flooded while another 500 homes were surrounded by floodwaters and emergency measures were being taken.

Andrews said that the number of flood-damaged homes is certain to rise.

He said rescue forces are assessing the amount of damage caused by the flood by using helicopters in the air.

It was the worst of the rain until late Friday morning, but the state emergency service warned that flooding would worsen in the coming hours as water moved downstream into river catchments.

Emergency Services Spokesman Tim Wiebusch told reporters that the flood emergency in regional Victoria was continuing to intensify.

Flooding is expected to cover almost all parts of Victoria in the coming days, he said.

About 4,000 homes in Shepparton could be flooded in the early days of next week, Wiebusch said.

Emergency Management Commissioner Andrew Crisp said the Australian Army had been deployed to parts of Victoria to help residents protect their homes with sandbags before the flood arrived.

“This is a major emergency for the State of Victoria,” he said.

ME