91Èȱ¬

Parts of Australia's have been hit by intense flash floods.

The country's east coast has experienced torrential rains and lots of people have had to be rescued from the floodwaters.

About 18,000 Australians have been evacuated from across New South Wales and some homes have been destroyed.

Some towns in the area have already seen record rainfall and officials say the "one-in-a-50-year event" may continue all week and have urged the public to be careful.

Days of torrential downpours have caused rivers and dams to overflow around Sydney - the state capital - and in south-east Queensland.

150 schools shut on Monday due to flooded roads and bridges.

The police have said that hundreds have flocked to evacuation centres in areas north of the city of Sydney.

More people are expected to seek shelter as the rains moved south down the coast.

"It's a very significant, record-breaking event with the rainfall that we have seen," said Agata Imielska of the Bureau of Meteorology.

The Warragamba Dam, which provides a lot of the drinking water for Sydney, started to spill over on Saturday afternoon and experts believe this could be the first significant overflow of the reservoir since 1990.

The Hawkesbury and Nepean rivers - which border Sydney to the north and west - reached higher levels on Monday than during a devastating flood in 1961.

Forecasters said the Hawkesbury river could peak at around 13m (42ft) later in the day.

Australia's prime minister Scott Morrison spoke out on the "absolutely heart-breaking scenes" of homes, towns and businesses that have been badly affected and offered troops to help with the emergency effort.

More storms are expected to hit parts of the country over the next few days and some regions in eastern Australia could receive up to a metre of rain in the space of just a week, the 91Èȱ¬'s Phil Mercer in Sydney has reported.