The fire brigade in Australia is finally being helped by nature: in the coming days, there will be a lot of rain in the southeast of the country. And yet there is a new danger lurking: the risk of flooding is increasing.
Weerplaza warns about this. Airflow from the sea will cause an influx of moist air in the coming days, causing showers to fall in the southeast of the country. The advantage of this situation is that for the time being the showers will stay above the areas affected by forest fires.
Regionally, 30 to 80 millimetres of rain may fall. That is not enough to eliminate the drought, but it certainly helps to put out the fires — finally some lighting for the fire department.
Yet there is also bad news. According to Weerplaza, a new danger is lurking. When showers hangover dries soil for a long time, the soil may become saturated.
The soil is then so dry that water no longer easily seeps into the soil. The result is that the water then overflows over the land. “After the forest fires, Australians can now get ready for floods,” said Weerplaza.
New danger or not, most Australians will be particularly happy with the expected showers. At present, more than 8,000 people, 500 fire extinguishers or helicopters and 750 vehicles are deployed on the ground to extinguish the fires.