Shocking aerial drone footage shows the extent of Australia’s east coast floods. One town is totally transformed by flooding, and houses have been submerged, and parts of cities are no longer accessible. In fact, the flooding has already resulted in over 18,000 people evacuating from their homes, with 30 locations regarded as natural disaster areas in New South Wales.
Aerial shots of floods in Sydney’s northwest have emerged completely inundated as the state continues to battle heavy rain and ongoing flooding. In addition to the flooding in New South Wales, there has also been a severe weather warning for neighboring Queensland as the southwestern part of the state was expected to receive flash flooding as a result.
Due to rising flood waters in low-lying properties, people were ordered to evacuate and for some of the people who evacuated from their houses sadly found that all too quickly the devastating fires destroyed or damaged their properties completely, leaving many of them in desperate situations.
The New South Wales (NSW) Rural Fire Service showed a video of Windsor and Richmond, which was described as resembling “an inland sea,” as houses were seen covered in water, with streets completely immersed below which resulted in 200 schools having to be closed.
The following statements indicate the disaster and its effect on the victims:
- ‘”Apocalypse state’: New disaster wreaks havoc year after horror
- ‘Kick in the guts’: Family homes lost to flood after bushfires battle
- ‘Brace yourselves’: Premier’s confronting warning amid flooding”*
NSW Premier Berejiklian shared:
“Communities who were battered by the bushfires are now being battered by the floods and a deep drought prior to that. I don’t know anytime in our state’s history where we’ve had these extreme weather conditions in such quick succession in the middle of a pandemic. You’ve been through three or four incidents that are life-changing on top of each other. It can make you feel like you are at breaking point.”*
The areas affected the most saw their March monthly rainfall hit five times the usual amount.
One of the saddest stories is that of a couple whose house floated away, and with their pets still inside and on their wedding day. They became separated by the floodwaters, but they were both safe as the community reached out to them by setting up a fundraiser, which surpassed $30,000 in a few hours.
Future
Here is yet another example of how drones are being used to prevent or minimize injury and or loss of lives.
Thanks to drones, the crews were able to assess the disaster quickly and more accurately, thereby more accurately addressing what needed to be done in terms of mitigating the danger and planning for rebuilding.
