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Clean-up begins around Sydney as super storm weakens

Xinhua, April 23, 2015 Adjust font size:

Emergency personnel began a massive clean-up operation in Sydney and surrounding regions on Thursday after being bashed by a three day super storm.

Cyclonic winds and non-stop rain lashed the Sydney region for three straight days, causing widespread flooding and damage to homes, businesses and farms and left four people dead.

On Thursday, more than 200,000 homes and businesses were still without power, and New South Wales (NSW) Premier Mike Baird declared 12 localities as disaster areas.

While the rain has largely stopped, more floods are expected on Thursday as large volumes of water make their way through catchment areas.

More than 10,000 emergency calls were placed by stricken residents to the south and north of Sydney, as well as from the city itself.

Remarkable tales of survival have begun emerging, with people in the town of Dungog northwest of Newcastle telling how chest high and deeper walls of water washed through the town at 5 a.m. on Tuesday.

Three elderly people drowned in the town alone, while another woman, 86, drowned nearby when she tried to drive her car through a flooded creek on Wednesday afternoon.

"This is unprecedented, the weather and the flooding conditions they've had at Dungog," a local police officer told reporters.

"It's really unbelievable. The people on the ground have never seen anything like it. It's a tragedy for the town. They've lost three of their citizens."

NSW authorities have so far estimated the damage bill at 130 million Australian dollars (101 million U.S. dollars).

Shipping traffic in Sydney's busy harbor returned to normal late on Wednesday, allowing a stranded cruise liner with 3300 passengers and crew on board to enter the port after more than 24 hours battling 15 meter high waves off the Sydney coast.

The city center is littered with thousands of destroyed umbrellas, and social media sites have popped up showing various forms of destruction throughout Sydney.

People from 250 Sydney homes who were evacuated when a nearby river burst its banks late on Wednesday were allowed to return on Thursday morning. Endi