SW News:

Heavy rain has wreaked havoc in Australia. Thousands of people in southeastern parts of the country have been told to leave their homes after two days of continuous rain caused dams to overflow and rivers to burst their banks. 
Large parts of Victoria, southern New South Wales, and the northern regions of Tasmania have been hit by inclement weather with some parts seeing more than a month’s worth of rain since late on Wednesday. According to officials, Australia’s second-most populous state Victoria was the worst hit with the western Melbourne suburb of Maribyrnong swamped by the rising waters. 
Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese called the flood situation 'dangerous'. "We are living in very dangerous times in the days and weeks ahead. There is further rain expected later this week, so it remains a very dangerous situation," the PM said during a press meet in New South Wales. 
Albanese announced emergency payments of A$1000 (£554.9) to those who have been seriously injured or had their homes damaged or destroyed. 
"Australians are coming together, they are helping each other out and once again we are seeing at the worst of times the best Australian character," said Albanese. He has also warned of the inflationary impact of flooding in Victoria, New South Wales, and Tasmania. “Tragically there had been such a good harvest anticipated in wheat, fruit, and vegetables, so many products ... areas like poultry will be affected as well,” he told local television. 
“We have to work with farmers and the sector, they have done it tough in recent years and we’re very hopeful but there’s no doubt there will be an impact on this and the impact will feed into higher prices, most unfortunately at a time when inflation has already been rising,” he said. 
Videos on social media have shown Victoria residents kayaking down flooded streets and large areas have been completely inundated. Such devastating floods have frequently ravaged Australia’s east coast since early last year because of a multi-year La Niña weather phenomenon, which brings additional rain.