SYDNEY—Floodwaters were receding in Sydney and its surrounding area Thursday as heavy rain threatened to inundate towns north of Australia’s largest city.
Evacuation orders and official warnings to prepare to abandon homes were given to 60,000 people by Thursday, down from 85,000 on Wednesday, New South Wales state Premier Dominic Perrottet said.
But towns including Maitland and Singleton in the Hunter Valley, north of Sydney, were still threatened by inundation, Perrottet said.
Around 50 rescues were made in the past 24 hours, several of which involved people stranded in cars in floodwaters, he said.
A boat patrols the Hunter River near Hinton, Australia on July 6, 2022. (State Emergency Service via AP)
Emergency Services Minister Steph Cooke said record-breaking rain that began around Sydney on Friday last week was easing….