Australia PM Albanese tours flood-hit Victoria state; evacuations, sandbagging under way
- Crisis comes after Australia’s eastern states were hit by severe flooding in early 2022 as the country endures a third consecutive La Nina weather event
- 60 Australian Defence Force personnel were now on the ground, assisting with evacuations and sandbagging
Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese on Sunday toured flood-hit parts of Victoria state, including the city of Melbourne, as three states continued to grapple with a flood crisis sparked by days of heavy rain.
Warnings were in place for flood-impacted parts of Victoria, southern New South Wales and northern regions of Tasmania after a weather system earlier this week dumped more than a month’s worth of rain on the southeast.
The crisis comes after Australia’s eastern states were hit by severe flooding in early 2022 as the country endures a third consecutive La Nina weather event, bringing heavy rains.
“Australians are coming together, they are helping each other out and once again we are seeing at the worst of times, the best of the Australian character,” Albanese said in Melbourne, where a major flood clean-up was under way.
Earlier, the prime minister said the “very severe weather event” was impacting both urban and regional communities and that 60 Australian Defence Force personnel were now on the ground, assisting with evacuations and sandbagging.