Deadly Australian floods were made worse by climate crisis and such storms are no longer ‘natural’, scientists warn

The deadly floods that swept across New South Wales this week were intensified by the climate crisis, scientists said even as tens of thousands of people remained cut off.

At least five people died and over 10,000 properties were damaged in what Australian officials described as one of the worst floods in recent memory.

The worst-hit areas included the Mid North Coast and the Northern Rivers, where some towns were submerged for days and key infrastructure was washed away.

The floods, sparked by days of incessant rain, submerged town intersections and street signs and covered cars up to their windshields after fast-rising waters burst riverbanks.

At their peak, the floods isolated some 50,000 people.

Meteorologists have noted that the flooding was sparked by a near-stationary trough system combined with a pool of cold upper-level air and moisture-laden easterly winds – conditions that have grown more extreme due to rising global average temperatures.

An analysis by ClimaMeter, a climate monitoring initiative, found weather patterns like those driving this week’s floods have become up to 15 per cent wetter than in the past, largely due to the warming atmosphere.

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The Climate Council, an Australian research group, also said that these kinds of disasters were no longer simply “natural”.

The latest research for Australia showed more rain was falling during extreme events, the organisation said. “We’ve had back-to-back flood events since the 2019-20 fires,” said Andrew Gissing, chief executive of Natural Hazards Research Australia. “These are compounding events for communities still in recovery; it’s what we expect with people being in a constant state of disaster recovery under climate change.”

Taree, one of the worst-hit towns, experienced its wettest May on record, with 427mm rainfall, more than a third of the yearly average, falling in just two days.

Australia’s prime minister, Anthony Albanese, acknowledged the rising frequency of these events during a visit to areas affected by the floods.

Mr Albanese and New South Wales premier Chris Minns had hoped to travel to Taree, but poor conditions prevented them.

“Tragically, we are seeing more extreme weather events. They are occurring more frequently, and they’re more intense,” Mr Albanese said.

“We need to acknowledge that whilst Australia has always had extreme weather events, the science told us that those events would be more frequent and would be more intense, and that is placing pressure on the system.”

He also acknowledged that as the climate crisis was driving more frequent and extreme weather events, insuring homes was “a real challenge”. He added, however, that his government was in contact with the Insurance Council of Australia.

Climate scientists have long warned that Australia’s east coast is becoming increasingly vulnerable to extreme rainfall and coastal flooding.

The New South Wales government notes that sea surface temperatures in the Tasman Sea, now above average, are fuelling the moisture levels feeding intense storms.

Emergency crews have rescued hundreds of people in recent days, but nearly 50,000 residents remain isolated due to flooded roads and damaged infrastructure. The full scale of the damage is still being assessed.

Conditions have improved since Friday in the affected areas, but damage assessment is still underway.