Persistent, heavy rain fell for several days in late summer in New South Wales, Australia, leading to the region’s worst flooding in six decades. The Australian Bureau of Meteorology reported that areas around Sydney and in the Hunter and Mid North Coast regions were drenched with 400 to 600 millimeters (16 to 24 inches) of rain across four days, with the most extreme totals approaching one meter.

Water levels rose to major flood levels along the Clarence, Gwydir, Mehi, Lower Hunter, Manning, and Colo rivers, among others. The Hawkesbury-Nepean River system around Sydney saw its highest crests since 1961. At least 40,000 people were evacuated and several died across New South Wales (NSW) state, while farmers suffered significant crop and livestock losses.

Upstream from Sydney, the Warragamba Dam has been overflowing since March 20 and is expected to continue doing so for a week. The BBC reported: “Warragamba Dam discharged 500 gigalitres on Sydney—equivalent to the volume of Sydney Harbour.” The downstream Hawkesbury-Nepean valley has several choke points that cause river water to pile up and rise onto floodplains west of Sydney in what emergency management authorities refer to as a bathtub effect.

We spent several days in the flodded region, and covered from many places.

( Text source: https://earthobservatory.nasa.gov/images/148093/historic-floods-in-new-south-wales )