SouthEast Australia was lashed by intense rainfall on Monday. The floods in Sydney are as worse as “one in 100 year”, in which thousands of people were ordered to evacuate and over 200 schools were closed.

The flash floods have caused extensive flooding in New South Wales, country’s most populated state. The officials have said that Sydney is experiencing one of the biggest floods it has seen in decades.

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The floods come just after a year of unprecedented bushfires across the same region, after which it had to experience a prolonged drought and serious water restrictions. 

The state’s Mid North Coast has been particularly badly affected, with state Premier Gladys Berejiklian declaring the region had been struck by a “one in 100 year” disaster.

In Sydney’s vast Hawkesbury-Nepean Valley, swollen rivers were expected to peak at levels not seen since 1961, after the Warragamba Dam, which provides the bulk of Sydney’s drinking water, spilled over Saturday afternoon.

Emergency service officials told local media that 18,000 people had so far been subject to evacuation orders across the state, with 2,000 still under evacuation orders Monday morning.

Authorities have warned of a potentially “life-threatening” situation though so far there have been no reports of deaths or serious injuries.

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The State Emergency Service has received 8,700 calls for help since the crisis began — more than 2,000 of them in the past 24 hours — officials told Sky News Australia.

Education authorities said more than 200 schools were closed, including some that had been damaged in the floods.

The Bureau of Meteorology has warned of “treacherous” conditions Monday before the wild weather eases later in the week.

Rainfall records were forecast to continue tumbling in the coming days as the deluge spreads into the state’s northwest, and further north into Queensland state.

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Health officials have said the rain and floods will delay the already halting roll-out of coronavirus vaccines in Sydney and surrounding areas.

Australia is due to begin the first major public phase of vaccine distribution on Monday, although the programme has slipped behind the government’s announced timetable because of supply and delivery issues.