Thousands of evacuations in Australia affected by torrential rains

Presented by Jonathan Barrett and Renzu Jose

SYDNEY (Reuters) – Australian authorities on Tuesday issued new flood warnings and evacuation orders as torrential rains continued to lash homes, roads and crops in many parts of the country with more than 50 years of bad weather.

The National Weather Service has issued warnings for almost all Australian states and territories. About 10 million of the country’s 25 million people are affected.

Speaking to reporters, Prime Minister Scott Morrison said the situation was more fluid and “very complicated”.

“Eighteen thousand people have been affected by the eviction orders,” he added.

No deaths have been reported so far, but thousands of people have been rescued in recent days.

The prime minister of New South Wales, the state most affected by the current weather, said the situation worsened overnight from Monday to Tuesday. “It will continue to get worse during the day, so many communities will experience even more rain,” said Gladys Periglian.

(French version by Jean Tertian)