Dams open their emergency floodgates, residential areas are flooded and thousands are evacuated. Within hours it rained more than usual in a month on Australia's east coast.
In more than 300 cases, residents of the state of New South Wales had to be rescued from houses and cars trapped by the water. In Sydney in particular, there were severe disruptions to public transport, with many trains, buses and ferries standing still. On Sydney's coast, waves whipped up by gusts of wind reached up to nine meters high.