Australia floods recovery could take several months, PM says

27/5/2025 13:50

Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese said on Tuesday flooding in the southeast posed "massive challenges" and the recovery would take several months.



Incessant rain over three days triggered major flooding in several rural towns in the Hunter and Mid North Coast regions of New South Wales, Australia's most populous state, as fast-rising rivers cut off more than 50,000 people last week.



Official data showed, Taree received just over 600 mm (24 inches) of rain over four days from May 20, roughly half its annual average.



Australia has been hit with increasing extreme weather events that some experts say are the result of climate change. Following droughts and devastating bushfires at the end of last decade, frequent floods have wreaked havoc since early 2021.



Albanese said the flooding severely hurt the dairy industry, which "will have an impact right throughout Australia." Dead and lost livestock had washed up on the coast after the floods inundated several farms and homes.