Torrential rain across some of Australia’s most populous regions has set off destructive flooding that’s only going to get worse. More than four times October’s monthly rainfall has dumped on some parts of the country in just 24 hours and communities in three southeastern states have been forced to evacuate including Victoria, which has been hardest hit. “I always said I wanted riverfront views, but not like this,” Barry Webster, whose Melbourne home is now underwater, told The Age. “Going downstairs and seeing the lounge floating… it’s a bit surreal, kind of like a movie.”
Flooding is responsible for the deaths of at least 20 people so far this year across Australia, and more rain is forecast for the coming weeks, straining rivers (some) already flooded at their highest levels since 1974. The multi-year La Nina is partially to blame for the increase in rain. (The Guardian, The Age, Axios, NBC, Al Jazeera, The Guardian, BBC; 1974 flooding: Reuters; Climate Signals background: Extreme precipitation increase)