Flood warnings have been issued in southeast Australia where thousands of homes have lost power due to heavy rains.
According to international media, hundreds of people in the New South Wales city of Forbes, west of Sydney, were ordered to evacuate their homes by Thursday night ahead of major flooding.
Rivers across Australia’s most populous states, New South Wales and Victoria, and the island state of Tasmania were rising dangerously with catchments soaked by months of above-average rainfall.
The State Emergency Service issued an order for 17 streets including the central downtown precinct to be evacuated by 8 p.m., (0900 GMT) with the Lachlan River expected to reach a major flood peak of 10.6 meters by Friday.
Police said a man was reported missing near the New South Wales town of Hillston, west of Sydney.
He was last seen on a rural property on the Lachlan River, police said.
Police on Tuesday found the body of a 46-year-old man in his submerged car in floodwater near the city of Bathurst, west of Sydney.
Heavy rains trigger flood warnings in southeast Australia
