Australian floods sow chaos in 2 states

SYDNEY－Sydney has been drenched in rain for days and was bracing for more heavy downpours on Sunday as the death toll from flooding across the country's east rose to 17.

A wild weather system that dumped more than a year's worth of rainfall over a week in southern Queensland and northern New South Wales brought widespread destruction, leaving thousands of people displaced and sweeping away property, livestock and roads.

Police said 17 people have been killed since the deluge began, including a Queensland woman, whose body was found on Saturday.

The Bureau of Meteorology in NSW said a new weather system could bring another round of heavy rains across the state, raising the risk of flooding.

"We are facing, unfortunately, a few more days of ongoing wet, stormy weather which will be quite dangerous for residents of NSW," said bureau meteorologist Jane Golding during a televised briefing.

In the north of NSW, the Clarence River remained at a major flood level, but Golding said the severe weather appeared likely to clear from Wednesday onward.

Brisbane city and its surrounding areas were hit by heavy storms a week earlier that flooded several thousand properties, and the cleanup continued over the weekend.

Tom Wolff, who runs a local charity organization in Lismore, said he spent his Saturday collecting donations of insulin, which were then delivered by a privately chartered helicopter to diabetic residents in the nearby town of Woodburn.

Authorities said on Sunday that the recovery process will take months, and they are donating more than A$2 million ($1.5 million) to different charities.

"For an event that lasted just three days, it's going to have a big impact on our economy and on our budget," Queensland's treasurer Cameron Dick said.

Some locals in flood affected areas have taken to social media to vent frustration about what they see as a lack of police, defense personnel and emergency services on the ground to help with the recovery effort.

However, Defense Minister Peter Dutton defended the work of his department on Sunday in the aftermath of the record flooding, saying he was "absolutely satisfied with the defense response".

"We've come in force, and we will increase the numbers dramatically," he said, promising there would be 5,000 troops on the ground in the coming days.

Scientists say climate change is making Australia's floods, bush fires, cyclones and droughts more frequent and more intense.

Agencies via Xinhua