Sydney has recorded its wettest March in history and Lismore residents have been told to leave their homes for the second time in 24 hours as rainfall continues to wreak havoc across the state.
Beating all records dating back to 1859, Sydney has now clocked 527.4mm of rain for the month of March as of 6am on Wednesday, marking its wettest March in history with 42 hours to spare.
The previous highest March total was set in 1942 which saw 521.4mm of rain.
Forecasting service Weatherzone said Sydney usually had a long-term average of just 132 mm for March.
“Unsurprisingly, this sodden start to 2022 has resulted in Sydney’s wettest start to a year on record,” the statement said.
In the state’s north, the people of Lismore have had yet another sleepless night after a new evacuation order was issued by the SES.
Lismore residents have been told they need to evacuate again on Wednesday morning after being given the all clear on Tuesday.Credit:Getty
At 5pm on Tuesday, residents from Lismore CBD, Lismore Basin, low-lying areas of East Lismore and Girards Hill were told it was safe to return after being evacuated in the morning.
But this advice was changed by the NSW SES at 3.20am on Wednesday with residents told they would need to evacuate again.
NSW SES assistant commissioner Nicole Hogan told ABC radio a fresh evacuation order came as a result of huge rainfalls overnight.
“The rainfall was quite intense overnight and with the embedded thunderstorms that actually occurred, there was quite a significant amount of rain that fell right … over the top of Lismore CBD, which caused flash flooding [which is why we have reissued that evacuation order],” she said.
An army vehicle drives past debris in Lismore.Credit:Getty
“Some areas…had over 350mm of rain in the last 24 hours.”
Lismore City Council told residents in a statement on Wednesday morning the town’s major river – the Wilsons River – was predicted to exceed the levee point of 10.6 metres around 8am.
During the deadly floods earlier this month, the Wilsons River reached the unprecedented level of nearly 15 metres causing major flash flooding across the region.
SES spokesman Ashley Sullivan said the rate at which the river was rising was a major concern.
“Significant rain has fallen in the Wilsons catchment in the last 12 hours this has led to the Bureau of the Meteorology predicting major flooding at Lismore,” he said in a video issued by the NSW SES.
“The NSW SES recommends that the community in the CBD of Lismore evacuate immediately.”
Bellinger River Tourist Park has also been ordered to evacuate while Riverside Caravan Park Coraki was told to evacuate at 7pm on Tuesday.
Evacuation warnings – which means residents should prepare to evacuate – were also put in place overnight for low-lying areas in North Macksville, North Bellingen, Urunga and Newry Island.
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