Wild storm system moves away from Sydney

A man wades through floodwaters outside his inundated house in western Sydney on July 5, 2022. SAEED KHAN AFP SYDNEY - A wild storm system that has pounded several parts of Sydney with torrential rain for four days has moved away from the city, satellite images showed on Wednesday, although rivers were above danger levels, forcing more evacuations.

More than 85,000 people in New South Wales, most in Sydney's western suburbs, have been asked to evacuate or warn they might receive evacuation orders, up from Tuesday's 50,000, authorities said.

AlSO READ: Australia's floods have worsened as more Sydney residents evacuated.

Prime Minister Anthony Albanese said during a media briefing that the situation is still dangerous and we need to respond appropriately. He declared a one-off emergency cash payment of A $1,000 $680 for flood-hit residents.

The weather bureau predicted rainfall in excess of 200 mm on Australia's east coast moved to the mid-north coast of New South Wales over 300 km, with the forecast for rainfall in excess of 200 mm there over six hours.

The floods crisis could last until early next week, as the authorities warned that the floods could last for a long time, as the torrential rains continue to dump waters into river catchments around Sydney, already near full capacity before the latest deluge.

Australia's east coast weather has been dominated by the La Nina phenomenon, which is typically associated with greater rainfall for the past two years in a row. The event ended in June but there is a 50-50 chance it will re-form later this year, according to the Bureau of Meteorology.

Television footage showed cars parked on top of rooftops and residents lining up homes and businesses with sandbags, while emergency crews were seen rescuing stranded farm animals.

Some regions of New South Wales have had up to 700 mm of rainfall since Saturday, more than the annual average, but conditions have begun to calm in Sydney.

Weather forecasters expect to see some dry conditions in Sydney tomorrow and Friday, some slight showers returning on the weekend but nothing quite as heavy as what we have seen, said Jonathan How, meteorologist for Australian Broadcasting Corp.