Australia's east braces for huge rainfall

Source: Xinhua| 2017-05-17 10:01:56|Editor: ZD
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SYDNEY, May 17 (Xinhua) -- The entire east side of Australia is awaiting a massive deluge which could see some parts of the country receive a month's rainfall in just three days.

Weather maps show the states of Queensland, New South Wales, Victoria and Tasmania will be completely covered on Friday by a blanketed downpour, with parts of South Australia and the Northern Territory also set for heavy rain.

"The reason it's so widespread is because there are two systems causing it," the Queensland Bureau of Meteorology, meteorologist Sean Fitzgerald explained to Xinhua Wednesday.

"Up in the north, a trough system is moving in and will deepen tomorrow, but there is also a separate trough, associated with a low pressure system that is currently over the south of Australia."

"It will move through Southern Queensland and parts of New South Wales on Friday as the trough in the north will begin to fade off, so to simplify it, the peak for the north will be tomorrow and Friday, but then the rest of the coast will peak over the weekend."

The impact of the rain will be especially difficult for residents in Queensland's north, who are still recovering from effects of Cyclone Debbie which ravaged the area in March and with over 200 mm of rain expected in some parts of the state, concerns are growing among authorities.

"We have a flood watch in place for the catchment area's in North Queensland, however they can hold enormous amounts of water, so we don't anticipate it being anywhere near as bad as Debbie."

In Sydney, low lying areas prone to flash-flooding are also being prepped and readied as the the east coast awaits a wet and wild weekend.

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