The National Bureau of Meteorology issued on Monday severe weather warnings for Sydney, the capital of that state and one of Australia’s largest cities, mainly because of the danger of overflowing rivers.

So far, one person has died and hundreds have been rescued by the State Emergency Service, most of them were trapped in their vehicles in an attempt to escape from flood.

State officials asked the population to refrain from driving in the most dangerous places so that they do not risk their lives and that of their families, as well as the life of the volunteers involved in the rescue works.

The weather agency stated that an improvement in weather conditions will be perceived by Wednesday but, it warned, the threat of flooding, landslides, strong winds and dangerous swells for navigation will continue.

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