Sharjah24 - AFP: Australia's emergency services ordered 200,000 people to flee from the path of a wild storm that lurched towards Sydney Thursday after killing 13 people in more than a week of record-setting floods along the east coast.
Authorities issued severe rain and wind warnings for a 400-kilometre (250-mile) stretch of coast as water levels rose rapidly -- including in suburbs around Sydney, Australia's largest city and home to five million people.
The unpredictable storm front has crawled southwards along the east coast from Queensland to New South Wales, creating havoc as rivers and reservoirs broke their banks with water swamping homes up to their roofs.
"Many people are waking up today to see much of our state underwater," New South Wales Premier Dominic Perrottet said.
"If you are subject to one of those evacuation orders, please get out," he told a news conference. "Things will get worse before they get better."
Authorities have ordered 200,000 people to evacuate their homes, and warned another 300,000 may soon have to join them.
The Warragamba Dam in southwestern Sydney, which supplies 80 percent of the city's water, has been spilling over since the early hours of Wednesday, accelerating the flooding in some areas.
For an optimal experience, please
