A young couple in Australia’s New South Wales state saw their house swept away by a catastrophic flood on their wedding day.
Terrified neighbors booked a dilapidated three-bedroom cottage bobbing along the Manning river after it burst its banks following heavy rain.
Thousands more people in the lowlands of Sydney have been told they would have to leave their homes.
The city has seen its major floods for decades as the rains continue.
Emergency Shelter Arrangements
Officials have warned of “life-threatening flash floods”, with waters not expected to subside until Thursday.
Seven shelters were opened across the province when Premier Gladys Berejiklian said parts of the Mid-North Coast were facing “one event in a hundred years”.
The Warragamba Dam, Sydney’s main water source, has been flooding for the first time in years.
Damage To The House
Sarah Soars and Joshua Edge had rented a cottage in Mondrook, north of Sydney, and were due to get married on Saturday on the riverbank in front of the land.
The couple, who have been living together for nine years, were living with their family and were not in the house at the time of the flood.
“It literally floated like a houseboat, the whole house, fully intact,” the co-owner of the property Peter Bowie was quoted as saying by Australian broadcaster ABC.
“It went so fast,” he added. “It went nearly a kilometre all intact, 100%. This house just lifted up and floated down the river.”
What Precautions Are Being Taken?
Hundreds of people have been gathering at emergency evacuation centres set up across the state.
Emergency officials said most schools in the affected areas would be closed on Monday. Citizens were also asked to work from home.
Up to 100mm (four inches) of rain is forecast to fall in 12 hours over Sydney, and as much as 300mm for the lower Blue Mountains, west of the city.
Sydney residents have posted pictures on social media of flooded roads leading up to their homes.
Agata Imielska from the Bureau of Meteorology warned of localised intense rainfall and damaging winds, saying the public should be aware of “dangerous conditions” that could change quite quickly.
“If you don’t need to travel, if you don’t need to head out today, this is the day to stay at home,” Ms Imielska was quoted as saying by the Sydney Morning Herald.
Some children took advantage of the rain to organise a mud slide in Newcastle.
