Multiple months’ worth of rain in a matter of days caused dangerous flooding across the Australian state of New South Wales, but it also extinguished dozens of fires that have ravaged the country for months.
An influx of moisture from the Tasman Sea helped spark widespread rainfall and thunderstorms from across central and eastern New South Wales since late last week.
The heaviest rainfall in decades was reported in Sydney from Friday into Monday as daily downpours inundated the city and surrounding suburbs.
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The city received 391.6 mm (15.42 inches) of rain over this four-day stretch, more than three times the normal amount for the entire month of February.
The flooding that ensued from the heavy rainfall caused at least 100,000 power outages in the Sydney area, according to the BBC.
More than 200 people were also rescued by emergency services in Sydney during the recent flooding.
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Flooded roadways caused travel headaches on Monday and rail and ferry services were also disrupted due to the ongoing flooding problems.
Flooding will continue to be a concern this week as daily showers and thunderstorms drench locations from southeast Queensland southward through eastern New South Wales, including the Sydney area.
Additional rainfall of 25-50 mm (1-2 inches) will be common into Thursday with an AccuWeather Local Storm Max of 150 mm (6 inches).
Residents of coastal New South Wales will also need to monitor the tropics closely this week as a newly formed tropical cyclone near New Caledonia is expected to track southwest toward Australia late this week.
The cyclone, which has been named Uesi, may bring downpours and rough seas seven if the center of the storm remains offshore.
The recent heavy rainfall has not been all bad news as only 17 fires continued to burn in New South Wales on Monday, according to BBC.
More than 30 fires were extinguished since Friday, including the Gospers Mountain “mega-blaze” which burned more than 500,000 hectares (1.24 million acres).
The Currowan Fire, which destroyed 312 homes, was also put out by recent heavy rainfall, according to the BBC.
Another positive for the region is that the extreme rainfall has elevated reservoir levels after a multi-year drop raised concerns for future water supplies.
Greater Sydney dam levels were above 64 percent on Monday, up more than 22 percent in the last seven days, according to The Guardian.
The flooding in eastern Australia occurred while western parts of the country were being slammed by dangerous Cyclone Damien. The storm made landfall on Saturday night local time as a Category 3 severe tropical cyclone near the town of Karratha in northwestern Australia.
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