The downpour forced thousands to evacuate and damaged hundreds of houses

Heavy rains along Australia’s east coast over the weekend have brought the worst flooding in half a century in some areas, authorities said on Sunday, forcing thousands to evacuate and damaging hundreds of houses.
New South Wales Premier Gladys Berejiklian said the downpour across the state, Australia’s most populous with 8 million people, was worse than initially expected, especially for low-lying areas in Sydney’s northwest.
“Yesterday, we were hoping it will only be a one-in-20-year event, now it looks like a one-in-50-year event,” Ms Berejiklian said at a televised briefing.
People in parts of Sydney’s northwest were ordered to flee their houses in the middle of the night as fast-moving waters caused widespread destruction. Ms Berejiklian said another 4,000 people may still be asked to evacuate.
Television and social media footage showed fast-moving water unmooring houses, engulfing roads, breaking trees and damaging road infrastructure. Emergency services estimate the total number of damaged houses to be “in the hundreds”.