On Wednesday, Australia will declare devastating floods along the east coast a national emergency, local media reported.
Declaring the emergency, which has been legally possible since the devastating 2019 bushfires in Australia, will give the federal government the power to bypass bureaucracy and immediately deploy additional resources, such as increased defence personnel.
Weeks of rain have left authorities struggling to get food and essential supplies to the worst affected areas. The states of New South Wales and Queensland have been particularly hard hit by the severe weather that has led to flooding since the end of last month.
Tens of thousands of people have already had to leave their homes for fear of further flooding, and heavy rain is expected in the affected areas in the coming days. At least 21 people have been killed so far as a result of the ongoing storm.