Australia rescue staff bring ponies marooned by floodwaters to safety

Australian rescue crews brought animals, including ponies to safety on Sunday (July 3) as incessant rain caused flooding in some parts of Sydney.

Using boats they brought the animals to dry land and to their grateful owners.

Thousands of residents were ordered to evacuate southwest Sydney as the flooding was expected to be worse than those that hit the region in the past year.

Heavy rain and overflowing dams and rivers all combined to threaten flash floods and landslides along the east coast from Newcastle down to Batemans Bay in New South Wales state, and rain was expected to intensify on Sunday night.

(Reuters)