FLOODS AFTER HEAVY RAINS FORCE MORE TO FLEE IN OZ, LEAVE 9 DEAD IN PAK

SYDNEY/QUETTA: Rain-swollen rivers spilled mud-brown waters across swathes of Sydney on Tuesday, swamping homes and roads while forcing thousands to flee.

The authorities have now instructed about 50,000 people to evacuate and another 28,000 to prepare to escape the rising waters in New South Wales, officials said. Emergency workers carried out 142 flood rescues in New South Wales over 24 hours, they said, with the support of 100 army troops deployed to the state.

Australia has been at the sharp end of climate change, with droughts, deadly bushfires, bleaching events on the Great Barrier Reef and floods becoming more common and intense as global weather patterns change.

Meanwhile, at least nine people, including women and children, were killed as heavy rains lashed southwestern Pakistan and triggered flash floods in several places, a provincial disaster management agency said on Tuesday.

Seven people died when the roofs of their homes collapsed in the downpour overnight in Quetta, the capital of southwestern Balochistan province, the agency said.

Two bodies swept away by floods were found near a dam on Tuesday. There were fears the death toll could be higher as several people were still missing. Rescuers used boats to search for those missing.

Authorities say the latest spell of torrential rains, which started on Monday and continued on Tuesday, also damaged dozens of homes in Balochistan.

Since June, rains have killed 38 people and damaged more than 200 homes across Pakistan. Floods triggered by seasonal monsoon rains wreak havoc in the country every year.