New South Wales (NSW), Sydney, and Southeast Queensland are flooded from the overflow of rivers and dams in the areas caused by heavy rainfalls on March 22, Monday. The Hawkesbury and Nepean rivers that border Sydney to the north and west have reportedly reached higher levels than usual. The Warragamba Dam, Sydney’s main water source, on the other hand, had released 500 gigaliters of water on Sunday. According to Australia’s Bureau of Meteorology, “increased rainfall, strong winds, damaging surf, and abnormally high tides” were expected in NSW on Tuesday.

The military has been sent on search and rescue missions. To date, there have been 15,000 evacuations in the Mid-North Coast and 3,000 in Sydney. 10 million people aside from citizens in Western Australia are put under a weather warning. The Bureau of Meteorology has warned NSW and several inland areas of a “serious risk” of flash floods. “This is an ongoing situation that is evolving and is extremely dangerous,” Australian Prime Minister Scott Morrison.