‘Catastrophic' Australia Floods Prompt Helicopter Rescues

WINDSOR, Australia (AFP) — Helicopters and boats were deployed to rescue residents stranded by catastrophic floods in eastern Australia Tuesday, as authorities warned more areas were now under threat.

A relentless week-long downpour has soaked most of New South Wales, causing surging rivers to burst their banks; swallowing homes, roads, bridges and farmland. Strained emergency services -- which just one year ago were battling drought and unprecedented bushfires -- used military aircraft and water sports equipment to access cut-off communities.

So far, around 850 people have been winched or ferried to safety, but tens of thousands have been told to flee their homes, and wild weather has spread to more inland areas.

In hard-hit Windsor, near Sydney, residents traversed the murky debris-strewn torrent on jet skis and other vessels normally seen of the city's golden beaches.

Some coastal regions have received a meter (three feet) of water in a week, the equivalent of two-thirds of normal annual rainfall.