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| Deadly Rainstorms Ravage Eastern Australia | Deadly Rainstorms Ravage Eastern Australia |
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| SYDNEY, Australia — Punishing winds, torrential rains and powerful ocean swells have inundated large areas of Australia’s two most populous states, driving thousands of people from their homes and killing at least four people. | SYDNEY, Australia — Punishing winds, torrential rains and powerful ocean swells have inundated large areas of Australia’s two most populous states, driving thousands of people from their homes and killing at least four people. |
| The floods add one more blow to a barrage of bizarre and destructive weather in the country, which was in the grip of a searing four-month heat wave and scores of huge wildfires before the remains of Tropical Cyclone Oswald made landfall late last week. | The floods add one more blow to a barrage of bizarre and destructive weather in the country, which was in the grip of a searing four-month heat wave and scores of huge wildfires before the remains of Tropical Cyclone Oswald made landfall late last week. |
| As the storm system crept south along the east coast from Brisbane in Queensland all the way to Sydney in New South Wales, more than 500 miles away, it dumped record amounts of rain in many areas, isolating dozens of communities and snarling traffic in the air and on land. More than 53 inches of rain fell in three days in some areas. | As the storm system crept south along the east coast from Brisbane in Queensland all the way to Sydney in New South Wales, more than 500 miles away, it dumped record amounts of rain in many areas, isolating dozens of communities and snarling traffic in the air and on land. More than 53 inches of rain fell in three days in some areas. |
| Early on Tuesday, winds approaching 62 miles per hour hit Sydney, the country’s largest city, churning up huge swells at Bondi Beach and drenching the city center. | Early on Tuesday, winds approaching 62 miles per hour hit Sydney, the country’s largest city, churning up huge swells at Bondi Beach and drenching the city center. |
| The city of Bundaberg, about 300 miles north of Brisbane, has been hit particularly hard. At least 1,000 people had to be airlifted from their homes by military helicopter on Monday and Tuesday morning as the streets churned with water. | The city of Bundaberg, about 300 miles north of Brisbane, has been hit particularly hard. At least 1,000 people had to be airlifted from their homes by military helicopter on Monday and Tuesday morning as the streets churned with water. |
| The flooding was comparable in scale to the catastrophic floods of 2011, which left at least 38 people dead and caused about $30 billion in damage in Queensland. The four deaths reported in the latest flooding have all been in Queensland. | The flooding was comparable in scale to the catastrophic floods of 2011, which left at least 38 people dead and caused about $30 billion in damage in Queensland. The four deaths reported in the latest flooding have all been in Queensland. |
| The state’s premier, Campbell Newman, visited Bundaberg on Tuesday, where he warned that the rapidly moving floodwaters were threatening to carry away entire buildings. | The state’s premier, Campbell Newman, visited Bundaberg on Tuesday, where he warned that the rapidly moving floodwaters were threatening to carry away entire buildings. |
| “Listen to the roar of the water; that’s not helicopters,” he said during a televised news conference. “You see a lot of locations where there’s literally rapids, white water, out there.” | |
| In New South Wales, officials estimated that 23,000 people had been cut off by the floodwaters. The state government ordered the evacuation of 2,100 people from Grafton, near the border with Queensland. | In New South Wales, officials estimated that 23,000 people had been cut off by the floodwaters. The state government ordered the evacuation of 2,100 people from Grafton, near the border with Queensland. |
| Virgin Australia, the country’s second-largest commercial airline after Qantas, said Tuesday that it was canceling dozens of flights because of the storm, including service connecting Brisbane, Sydney and Melbourne, the country’s three largest cities. | |
| By midafternoon, though, the storm had passed and the skies in Sydney were clear and blue again, suggesting that blistering heat would soon resume. | By midafternoon, though, the storm had passed and the skies in Sydney were clear and blue again, suggesting that blistering heat would soon resume. |