According to meteorologists, several parts of Australia are expected to experience a massive amount of rainfall including southeast Queensland and much of the NSW east coast, with rains strong enough to put out fires that are still burning.
And while this seems like good news, authorities were also worried that it could potentially bring substantial flash flooding in those areas.
The Rural Fire Services tweeted:
“Easing conditions have seen all fires now at the advice alert level.”
“More than 1,500 firefighters will use favorable conditions to work on containment of a number of large fires.”
David Wilke, Bureau of Meteorologist forecaster also said rain is expected on fire grounds across NSW into early next week.
“Rainfall is expected to become heavier from Wednesday on the north coast where it will build until it moves down south tomorrow evening and into the weekend.”
“It’s a reasonably good bet we’ll get a good amount of rain right across the state.”
However, Mr. Wilke stated that severe weather warnings could be raised on Thursday and Friday for flash flooding on the north coast and mid-north coast regions. Apart from these, landslides are also possible to occur due to a lack of vegetation on fire grounds.
Meanwhile, people from southeast Queensland can expect to get as much as 200mm of rainfall along the coast in the coming days. The heaviest rains are expected on the Sunshine Coast, north of Brisbane, on Wednesday and Thursday.
Southern interior areas, including the Southern Downs, Darling Downs and parts of the Warrego and Maranoa regions, could see up to 40mm each day until the weekend.
Meteorologist Harry Clark said:
“Given how dry it has been in those areas this could be the most significant rainfall the southern interior of Queensland has seen in a number of months.”
“Flood warnings may be raised during the week, especially around inland river systems.”
The public is urged to be vigilant and continue monitoring ever-changing weather conditions. These rains might be a lifesaver for the many people affected by the bush fires in the past weeks, but it can also pose a new threat if it gets even stronger and becomes another natural disaster.
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