INSUBCONTINENT EXCLUSIVE:
Torrential rain continued to lash eastern Australia on Thursday (May 22), swelling already engorged rivers, engulfing roads and leaving
almost 50,000 people stranded.Police found the body of a 63-year-old man inside a flooded home in the rural hamlet of Moto, about 400km
northeast of Sydney.Others clambered onto their roofs to escape the rising waters as authorities dispatched helicopters, boats and drones on
could be isolated by flooding across the Mid North Coast, where rivers flow off rugged hills to feed the verdant hinterland.Authorities
feared at least three people had gone missing.MORE NATURAL DISASTERSFrom the arid outback to the tropical coast, swathes of Australia have
been pummelled by wild weather in recent months.The average sea surface temperature around the continent was the highest on record in 2024,
according to the Australian National University.Warmer seas sweat more moisture into the atmosphere, which can eventually lead to more
intense rains.Some 2,500 emergency workers have been deployed to the region, Minns said, alongside rescue boats, a fleet of helicopters, and
