Heavy rains flooded parts of eastern Australia, causing flooding in the Sydney area, but also brought some relief to firefighters who continue to fight dozens of wildfires in the state of New South Wales, the Associated Press and Reuters reported.
According to local authorities in New South Wales, 42 fires are still raging. The downpours, however, extinguished 20 of the fires in the Southeast Australian state.

The heavy rains have also affected parts of Queensland.

Although they help with fires, these heavy rains carry risks as well.

Authorities have welcomed the downpour but warned of flash flooding in Sydney and other cities along the coast.
According to a January quarterly weather forecast for Australia, temperatures are expected to remain high with very little precipitation.