Heavy rains have dumped more than a year’s worth of rainfall in the Australian states of Queensland and New South Wales since late February.
Flooding caused by the storms has left dozens dead and thousands displaced as the government issued evacuation orders. Consequently, search and rescue efforts have been ongoing.
In a Facebook post Monday, Australian Prime Minister Scott Morrison offered his condolences to the families of the deceased.
“Cleanup and recovery is well underway” in parts of Queensland and New South Wales with more than 2,000 Australian Defence Force (ADF) personnel currently deployed across the affected areas, Morrison wrote.
“This number will increase to 5,000 personnel over the next few days,” Morrison added.
A man navigates floodwaters from the swollen Manly Creek in Manly Vale, Australia, on March 8.
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Patria Powell salvages items from her mother’s flooded home in Woodburn, Australia, on March 7.
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A photo taken with a drone shows houses inundated by floodwaters in Woodburn, on March 7.
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Craig Ashcroft, left, and Rob Beenhakker clean up a friend’s home in Tumbulgum, Australia, on March 6.
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Volunteers from the local Rural Fire Brigade clean up a primary school in Tumbulgum, on March 6.
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Alison Bruggy, left, inspects her destroyed house, which was swept off its foundation, near Wyrallah, Australia, on March 4.
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Piles of debris line a main street in Lismore, Australia, on March 4.
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Michele Laurie hugs a work colleague who came to help in the cleanup of her home in Lismore on March 3.
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People use a boat to save items from their home in Brisbane, Australia, on March 3.
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Volunteers from the State Emergency Service rescue a llama from a flooded farm in western Sydney on March 3.
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A person walks through rain at Manly Beach in Sydney on March 3.Deer are kept in an enclosure as they are transferred away from flooded farmlands on the outskirts of Sydney on March 3.
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Blankets and sheets dry outside a flooded home in Brisbane on March 2.Flying instructor Peter Clement, right, and his wife Kerrie stand in waist-high water as they examine their aircraft inside a flooded hanger at Grafton Air Strip in Grafton, Australia, on March 2.Discarded furniture sits outside in Lismore on March 2.Wreckage is seen at a ferry terminal on Brisbane River in Hawthorne, Australia, on March 1.
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People use small boats to travel through floodwaters in Lismore on February 28.Mitchelton Football Club’s destroyed field is seen in Brisbane on February 28.A man carries a wedding photo as people evacuate homes in Goodna, Australia, on February 27.
