Half a Million Australians Under Emergency Flood Evacuation Orders or Warnings

A man walks his dog through a flooded street in Ballina, Australia, on March 3, 2022. Dan Peled/Getty Images

Half a million residents in New South Wales (NSW) are under emergency flood evacuation orders or warnings as the east coast “rain bomb” weather event continues to moves south.

“We have 76 evacuation orders in place covering 200,000 people and we have 18 evacuation warnings across New South Wales covering nearly 300,000 people combined,” Emergency Services Minister Stephanie Cooke told reporters on Thursday.