May 23, 2025 - Energy & Climate

In photos: Deadly floods strand over 50,000 people in eastern Australia

Rebecca Falconer

Search and rescue operation continue as at least one person was killed, and tens of thousands were stranded as raging floodwaters inundated towns, causing power cuts, and road closures in Australia's New South Wales (NSW) state on May 22, 2025. — A search and rescue operation unfolds Thursday in New South Wales as tens of thousands of people are stranded as raging floodwaters inundate communities, causing power cuts and road closures in the Australian state. Photo: NSW State Emergency Service/Anadolu via Getty Images

Major flooding in eastern Australia has killed four people, and at least one person is missing in an extreme weather event with strong links to climate change, officials said Friday.

The big picture: Officials in Australia's most populous state, New South Wales, made a natural disaster declaration in response to record rainfall that's isolated more than 50,000 people, with large amounts of rain falling in state capital Sydney and elsewhere.

Water level rises inside Cliftleigh Meadows Park from the over flowing Wallis Creek in Gillieston Heights near New South Wales town of Maitland on May 23. — Floodwaters rise Friday near the NSW town of Maitland. Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese said at a Friday briefing, "Tragically, we're seeing more extreme weather events. They're occurring more frequently and they're more intense." Photo: Saeed Khan/AFP via Getty Images

A road is seen flooded from the over flowing Wallis Creek in Gillieston Heights near New South Wales town of Maitland on May 22. — A flooded road Thursday near Maitland, NSW. The state has been hit by three days of rain and up to 8 inches has fallen in 24 hours in some parts of the state. Photo: Saeed Khan/AFP via Getty Images

Fire Brigade officials clear silt as floodwaters recede from the main road in Taree on May 23, 2025. Record floods cut a destructive path through eastern Australia on May 23, caking houses in silt, washing out roads and separating 50,000 people from help. — Firefighters clear silt Friday as floodwaters recede from the main road in Taree, NSW. The nonprofit Climate Central notes there are "at least three ways that climate change is influencing the intensity of these floods." Photo: Saeed Khan/AFP via Getty Images

Volunteers help out locals to clear flood-damaged goods from their shops along the banks of the Manning River in Taree on May 23, 2025. — Volunteers help locals clear flood-damaged goods from their shops Friday in Taree. "A hotter, wetter and more energetic climate also means there is more energy to fuel storms that generate heavy rainfall," per Climate Central. "Since July 2024, sea surface temperatures in Australia have been the warmest or second warmest on record for each respective month." Photo: Saeed Khan/AFP via Getty Images

Aaron Bott (C), a manager at the Evergreen Stud Farm, and his crew feed horses after moving them to higher ground on May 23, 2025 in Heatherbrae, New South Wales, Australia. — The scene Friday in Heatherbrae, NSW. "A near-stationary high pressure system in the Tasman Sea has contributed to the persistence of this rainfall event, stalling a moist, easterly flow of air over the NSW coast," according to Climate Central. Photo: Roni Bintang/Getty Images

Go deeper... Australian official: Climate change making historic flooding "less natural"

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In photos: Deadly floods strand over 50,000 people in eastern Australia

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