After the Floods... Thousands Evacuated from Their Homes

Thousands of residents in several inland towns in New South Wales, the most populous state in Australia, have evacuated their homes following the issuance of more than 100 flood warnings as rivers have overflowed their banks and approached record flood levels. The Bureau of Meteorology stated that significant flooding is occurring in Forbes, a rural town in the state’s wheat-growing region, with the Lachlan River expected to reach its highest level in 70 years later. The bureau added that flooding along the Murrumbidgee River in Wagga Wagga, home to around 70,000 people, may peak soon. Levels are expected to exceed those of the flood that hit the region in 2010.