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Flooded road in Windsor northwest of Sydney
Photo: Rick Rycroft / AP
Hundreds of people have been rescued from the floodplains in southeast Australia using military helicopters, jet skis and rubber dinghies.
As of Tuesday, 850 people had been brought to safety, the authorities said.
Some areas in the state of New South Wales could only be reached by air or by boat.
In Windsor, northwest of Sydney, people left their flooded homes on jet skis, surfboards and paddle boats.
In New South Wales, the most populous state in Australia, it has rained torrentially for days.
In some coastal towns, one meter of rain fell in a week - that is two thirds of the amount of precipitation for a whole year.
The Prime Minister of New South Wales, Gladys Berejiklian, spoke of a catastrophe that occurs only
"
once in a hundred years
"
.
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Up to 18,000 people had to leave their homes
Photo: Saeed Khan / AFP
Around 18,000 people have already had to leave their homes.
Berejiklian announced further evacuations in the next 24 to 48 hours.
They could affect 15,000 more people.
High water level at 13 meters
The Hawkesbury River and other rivers burst their banks, and in places the flood level was 13 meters.
Roads were also so high under water that only a few traffic and street signs were sticking out.
The floods tore branches, garbage, cars, shipping containers and at least one house with it.
But it is not just the floods that are of great concern to people.
The native fauna is also becoming an increasing danger.
As reported by the US broadcaster CNN, among others, there have been numerous reports of spiders and snakes heading for human dwellings on the run from the water.
For example, the Australian Matt Lovenfosse regularly posts updates on Facebook about the conditions on his farm in Kinchela Creek on the east coast of the country - about halfway between the metropolises of Sydney and Brisbane.
One of the photos shows dozens, if not hundreds, of spiders moving over muddy ground.
In addition, many trees are reportedly full of snakes (read more here).
bam / AFP
