Days of extreme rainfall have swamped large areas of Australia, especially in the state of New South Wales. Hundreds of people have been rescued, tens of thousands have been evacuated, and at least two deaths have been reported so far. As the weather system begins to move away, recovery efforts are now starting in some of the dozens of communities that were declared disaster zones. Collected below are images of the widespread damage caused by this once-in-a-generation flooding event.
Australians Face Worst Flooding in Decades
-
-
A child is carried to safety by a State Emergency Service member after a Marine rescue boat rescuing a family from rising floodwaters capsized in strong currents in the suburb of Sackville North, in Sydney, on March 23, 2021. #
Loren Elliott / Reuters -
-
-
-
A stranded bride and groom, rescued by helicopter to get them to the church on time, kiss in front of a flooded bridge that blocked their five-minute drive into town, in Port Macquarie, Australia, in this picture obtained from social media, dated March 20, 2021. #
Amanda Hibbard, Kate Fotheringha via Reuters -
-
People load a State Emergency Service boat with food to be transported to a stranded community no longer accessible by road after days of heavy rain resulted in severe flooding in western Sydney, on March 24, 2021. #
Loren Elliott / Reuters -
Bree Talbot, head veterinarian, attends to an echidna in the Byron Bay Mobile Wildlife Hospital. The echidna was found injured beside a road after escaping to higher ground after heavy rain on March 24, 2021, in Byron Bay, Australia. #
James D. Morgan / Getty -
An Australian galah, also known as the pink-and-gray cockatoo, is attended to in the Byron Bay Mobile Wildlife Hospital, after being found injured on the ground after heavy rain in Byron Bay on March 24, 2021. #
James D. Morgan / Getty -
-
Australian Prime Minister Scott Morrison inspects damage created by floodwaters from an Australian Army helicopter during a visit to flood-affected areas in and around Sydney on March 24, 2021. #
Lukas Coch / AFP / Getty -
-
A family from North Richmond is transported by rescue workers across the floodwater to visit their daughter in a hospital in the suburb of Richmond on March 23, 2021. #
Jaimi Joy / Reuters -
A boy stands on the edge of the floodwaters in the suburb of McGraths Hill, as the state of New South Wales experiences widespread flooding and severe weather on March 24, 2021. #
Jaimi Joy / Reuters -
-
A father and child receive medical attention after the Marine rescue boat that rescued them from rising floodwaters capsized in strong currents in the suburb of Sackville North, in Sydney, Australia, on March 23, 2021. #
Loren Elliott / Reuters
We want to hear what you think about this article. Submit a letter to the editor or write to letters@theatlantic.com.