About 500 homes are reported to have been inundated while another 500 have been isolated due to heavy torrential downpour in Australia’s southeast cities, including the coastal capital Melbourne, which is home to about five million people. Officials have reportedly issued evacuation orders in affected parts.

In Victoria state, regions are experiencing “very, very, significant rainfall event and it comes, of course, with the ground completely sodden,” Victoria Premier Daniel Andrews was quoted as saying by news agency AP. The number of houses – affected by the flooding – is expected to rise as more rain is expected in the week ahead.

“The real challenge now is we’ve got another rain event next week and the Bureau (of Meteorology) forecasting more rain throughout the next six-to-eight week period and it won’t take a lot of additional water for there to be further flood events,” Andrews added. “So this has only just started and it’s going to be with us for a while.”

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About 4,700 homes were without power and the State Emergency Service reported that it carried out 108 flood rescues in the last two days. About 20 people have died so far, as per reports. Service commander Josh Gamble talked about the unprecedented nature of weather and how it has posed new challenges. “That is quite significant and we haven’t had that many flood rescues for quite some time, for some years in fact,” Gamble said.

In the New South Wales state, about 500 people have been isolated or evacuated from the town of Forbes, authorities said. With river levels forecast to rise, residents are moving to higher ground.

The Bureau of Meteorology declared in September that an above-average rainfall pattern in eastern Australia – La Nina – was expected. It is a cooler flip side of the drying El Niño pattern. This year is the third La Nina since 2019 became Australia’s driest and hottest year. Australia’s largest city Sydney recorded its wettest-ever year last week, breaking the 1950 record.