SYDNEY HIT WITH MORE FLOODING

Hundreds of homes have been inundated in and around Australia’s largest city in a flood emergency that was threatening 45,000 people, officials said today.

Emergency response teams made 100 rescues overnight of people trapped in cars on f looded roads or in inundated homes in the Sydney area, state emergency service manager Ashley Sullivan said.

Days of torrential rain have caused dams to overflow and waterways to break their banks, bringing a fourth flood emergency since March last year to parts of the city of 5 million people.

The New South Wales state government declared a disaster zone across more 20 local government areas overnight, activating federal government financial assistance for flood victims.

Evacuation orders and warnings to prepare to abandon homes impacted 45,000 people as of today, up from 32,000 on Monday, Sullivan said.

“The weather is meant to stick around for at least today and tomorrow, and the threat will remain with those flood warnings for the rest of this week,” Sullivan told Nine Network television.

Parts of Sydney had been lashed by nearly 8 inches of rain in 24 hours, Bureau of Meteorology meteorologist Jonathan How said.