it's set to continue for several days. and for more let's bring in journalist purcell harrison cressy in sydney hi rachelle so new south wales is saying some of the worst flooding in decades and parts of sydney where you are also now being evacuated what kind of damages are we talking about here well actually authorities have said the rain it's currently lashing the mid north coast of new south wales is a once in a century then there's the record breaking rains that lashed that region but also as you said right here in sydney aware of that wish orders were given this sunday afternoon to thousands of residents in parts of western sydney sydney notably the head rift area a national disaster has been declared in 16 local government areas across the state we know that hundreds of properties of properties have been damaged and sadly

people's beloved pets have also been lost in love and then there are reports of horses and livestock being washed down the rivers and washing up on local beaches there are some incredible images old for example of how that was had to be rescued from the surf on the mid north coast of new south wales so it's not something you see every day that's the short and not how well prepared are all far cities and people have as we heard that obviously there's going to be some funding from the government but how well prepared were they. well i think both authorities and residents were taken by surprise just how quickly the strains of lived and how quickly the floodwaters started rising so there wasn't a gracious mounds of preparation and 13 makeshift evacuation centers of popped up in those affected regions of cross the states they removed and 100.

volunteers on the front line and they have reportedly carried out some 700 blood rescues just in the past 3 days so that's and enormous announcing the mountain again that's a a once in a lifetime in a stream of weather events that i think just nobody was prepared for was expecting the rain is going to keep bashing this area well into next week son who i think it's a case of people really just hunkering down and bracing for the worst right richelle harrison plaza in sydney stay dry and safe thank you. thank you. let's take a look now at some of the other stories making news around the world a new wave of protests has been held in myanmar against its military one man was killed and several wounded when police opened fire on a group setting up a barricade in the central city of money near 250 people have been killed since the

army took power in a coup on february 1st. voting is underway in the republic of congo's presidential election. is expected to extend his 37 year grip on power the main opposition party is boycotting the vote which it says is illegal. turkish police have arrested a prominent pro kurdish politician they've been staging a protest in parliament for the past 5 days. guess who refused to leave the building now for he was stripped of his seat and his immunity is no make out of. a state of emergency has been declared in miami beach to large crowds of revelers arrive for spring break it's the 2nd here in a row that authorities in the american result city of clamp down because of fears that crowds could spread coronavirus. meanwhile covert 19 infection rates are rising across europe as the continent battles

a 3rd wave of the virus poland is one of the hardest hit countries and started imposing new lockdown restrictions on saturday much of public life will be shut down for at least 3 weeks poland has experienced an exponential growth in cases in the past month its health care system is under strain as hospitals struggle to cope with the new admissions. warsaw 1st responders are at their limits and one in every 3 calls they get is a covert emergency more and more young people are coming down with the virus like this 45 year old mother of 3. she's been sick with the virus for 11 days the condition is deteriorating paul said her breathing and now irregular. after collecting their patient the 1st responders have to find a hospital that will take her and it's becoming ever more difficult. in the

hospital wards are filling up as in picture numbers rise. more than 26000 new infections were reported in poland on saturday as many as jury november's peak to be 117 mutation has been spreading. the news bubbled an estimated 60 to 80 percent of cases can be traced to the british variant it's extremely aggressive in a strip of util saw the health system is under intense pressure including the hospital in plots in central poland there are 35 beds for covert patients and over 50 patients ill with the virus what. it would be easier for our hospital if we had more doctors we specially need more as they. were also lacking stop in almost every department. to fight the 3rd wave the hospital in ports could is trying to vaccinate as many people as it can as quickly as it can poland's rollout is amongst

the most rapid in the e.u. you know. that news but it's really important to be here today i'm caring for my disabled son and i don't want to infect him i want to get vaccinated i haven't been sick with covered but my wife died of it. the government has now tightened its lockdown museums schools and shopping centers nationwide will close for at least 3 weeks but online lockdown opponents have been organizing against the measures hotel and restaurant owners from the group were open are defying the rules even though they could be fined. if we shut now that. i put years of my life into this place of my work clothes. but the authorities aren't giving in to community opposition the infection numbers are rising too fast for that. resilience one of the country's hardest hit by the pandemic with nearly

3000 people dying every day in a recent poll 80 percent of brazilians think the pandemic is out of control a new variant that was 1st detected there is spreading rapidly intensive care beds are almost fully occupied and hospitals in many areas are on the brink of collapse hopes and now resting on vaccinations about the rollout has been slow. the vaccination program is back up and running in brazil after a supply shortage storage growing to a halt people aged over 70 should have been vaccinated by now but brazil is behind schedule. i should have received the short months ago but the inefficiency of the government means it's slow going there isn't enough vaccine. the government's failure as a becoming ever clearer president bill snorer continues to reject scientific advice he is now on his 4th health minister of the pandemic but no one is expecting a fundamental change of direction experts are warning that the unchecked spread of

the virus in this vast country could present a danger for the whole world some fear it's only a matter of time before a variance emerges here that is resistant to the current vaccines. the international community has to mobilize and show more initiative if only in its own interests because today brazil is the place with the highest likelihood of producing a variant that could be dangerous for the entire world. the apparently more dangerous virus there and p. one is already the dominant strain here but this hasn't prompted decisive action precautionary measures remain piecemeal rears beaches were closed at the weekend but otherwise there were hardly any restrictions. take a look at some of the other developments in the pandemic now germany's 7 day incidents wright has jumped up to more than 100. could apply new restrictions to

stop the virus spreading pakistan's prime minister has become the latest world leader to test positive for the virus 2 days after receiving china's cinephile back saying but. the c.e.o. of german vaccine manufactured by own take is optimistic that the pandemic will be under control by the end of this summer he says the latest lockdowns should be the last. time was a mistake a football now and robert levy scored a 1st half hat trick as by many cruise to an easy win over stuttgart the polish striker now needs just 5 goals in his remaining 8 matches to equal the record for the most in the bundesliga seize it by a strike and managed 40 almost 5 decades ago no one has come anywhere near that record until now. robert lever dosti is closer than ever to the old time buddha's league goal scoring record heat already 932 times this season and ahead of this

clash which took god's bonds afternoon started with a sick back when our phones are davies was sent off for this challenge to cause wataru endo any hope the guests may have harbored of a shock result were dealt a blow shortly afterwards though when surge cannot pre-set up leventhal ski for his 1st of the afternoon. after a smooth passing move in the 20 seconds mimic can operate himself doubled by ends lead the 3rd goal in the space of 5 minutes then followed when thomas miller crossed full of adults who converted with a perfect be placed head. by owens 4th the striker complete a 1st half hat trick with his 35th bundesliga goal of the current campaign with a games left 11 though still looks a safe bet to equal or even surpassed good morals record of 40 goals in a single season. but if you think i don't want to think about it too much i need to

stay patient and do my job how many goals i need to score that's a secondary concern at the moment that's the thing there's a man in tight that i smile a quiet 2nd half so stuttgart accept their fate they stay in 7th place while league leaders buy and maintain their 4 point christian over lights at the top of the table. while levon dusky has been piling up the goals from bion young erling holland has been doing the same thing for us in dormant and he added 2 more goals to his total against cologne on saturday early on holland controlled a long house and poke the ball into the next game 21 and only made. 2 goals put colona head until the 90th minute when holland popped up against the bank . 2 to the drool seized open stay fit in the leg. you're watching data mining is that that you're up to date this hour sports live is

up next to stay tuned for that we're back with more news headlines at the top of the next hour until then as always our website dot com and you can follow us on social media as well we're right at me i'm rebecca written in berlin thanks so much for watching. every day. for us and for our planet. the idea is on its way to bring you more conservation. how do we make cities screener how can we protect animals and their habitats what to do on the lower east. and make a difference for choosing reforestation over a g. 4 station recycling over disposable smart new solutions oberstein said you know

what. is truly unique and we know that their uniqueness is what allows us to live and survive. why do you as the argument to suit global 3000 g.w. . own. surfing means everything to me it's almost like an escape from reality i feel super

relaxed and super calm in the ocean and it just gets kind of afraid i'm forming. you can get angry sometimes but the feeling that i get the most is happiness and freedom. certainly is my life i'm free from their daily lives and that the water in my surfboard. costa rica's speeches by those 2 year round waves attracting surface from all around the world for the yard we're going to run 3 of geminis best stuff is train here it's all they can do is competitions have barely been held over the past year shortly before surfing was set to make its debut at the olympic games the world

ground to a halt 3 athletes in limbo. my name is rachel press here i live in melbourne florida and i am a person also. german. my name is the only girl and i was born in the length germany but now i live in portugal and i serve on the german flag but that journalists are. my neighbors you know lots where i live in kabul it's closer and i search for the german olympic team. rachel prestige and dillon clue in one to be the 1st german surface at the olympics. on the side of 2016 that lives were turned around. in rio the international olympic committee decided to make soughing and in pick sports. sure finger bernard goldberg and very dark were born during. siri surfing

beach is set to be the scene of the very 1st and then pick surfing event for germany 3 men and 3 women are currently still in the running for 4 tickets to take they live in the usa costa rica at her door and the canaries all of them have german citizenship but most have never actually lived in the country. most skilled surface grew up by the beach writing their 1st waves at an early age. dylan clunes mother has german rates his father is south african and he lives in portugal. basically or germany or wherever 101 and i was born a berlin and when i was 4 years old we moved to portrayal because of my dad's work i went through a german school so there's a lot of german in. the 20 year old finished school 2 years ago and has been fully focused on the sport since then. at age 24 is already something of

a veteran his family a from castle but he grew up in the costa rican surfing hotspot of onus when he was 9 he was discovered by germany's then top surface. he became his mental or physical. body the 1st thing he gave me was a surfboard and all just so excited i couldn't believe it i went running to my mom getting a surfboard from this professional surfer and his german. this student has since become the master but is still a close confidant. rachel presti is from florida her mother is german the 18 year old is touted as germany's great his chum's just surfing medal. in 2018 she was junior well champion the biggest international success for germans she started her career representing the usa but that she faced

much tougher competition. especially surfing for germany it's really cool since i'm representing my mom's background and all my mom's family still lives and germany so i feel like i'm almost doing it for the family kind of thing paralyzation shit with dillon helped to make the move they've been living and training together since they met at a junior competition 2 years ago he's super motivating juan surfing and super helpful whenever i'm down and always makes her happy. that was some difficult moments in 2020 the coronavirus pandemic brought competitive surfing to a halt rachel naomi and dillon couldn't compete an abrupt change for athletes usually on the road for up to 11 months a year the contest which would have determined olympic qualification was delayed by a year 12 months of uncertainty without knowing when things would be starting up

again. it's hard work you know i mean you know because of olympics and everything we're we're mostly training right knows we're still training and working out for the upcoming season. in jim hogan they have one of the most renowned surfing coaches in the world the american has known them for several years and is in close contact with the german association reporting on their progress. today the waves are fairly small just like they're expected to be at sirica beach so. they're working on technique. after 2 hours on the water they go through the session analyzing every move it's 123 because board 6 feet so that 6 feet above the lives the so they call tell har. feedback from because sometimes i could be doubting something let's say he doesn't and we kind of you know get into the middle of the we're all working on something different next

time we go on the water we definitely think about what we've got to work on and we'll work on it and hopefully the chivas. probably working on something else or straight away here we go right now in the next session jim hogan has the surface go through competition conditions he's evaluating that tactics that choice of waves dylan is up against lay on great show is facing australian pro mckayla green. who are going for the biggest worry for the most radical nuber closest to reoccur all the breaking part of the way with each maneuver in better and better with more speed. power and flow. under time pressure the athletes have to choose their way and decide what moves they can pull off failed attempts will cost them valuable time in the competition. jim says that the 1st wave will set the marker for the competition in his test run he awards double points for the 1st wave

at the end rachel and dylan get a close win and then added up it was 17.6 just 17.30 that's about as close as you're going to get that was a good. new boards have a arrived filet on from his. 3 boards each suited to a different type of wave. he uses around 30 year. it's the best feeling to get new boards because these will be your motors basically for the next qantas and the 1st thing i check when i get aboard is is the likeness you know and also i look at the rocker it has fear that goes through the nose and also there's a there's kind of a noise you want to look for which is not very hollow you look for. springing noise and. they're really good. each feature is the gemini colors

surface received funding as part of the a live program. there's the elop thing our career towards olympics you know you have a lot of support from them and we are we have coaches a psychologist sports psychologist so they're definitely helping us to do the olympic dream. and now that we have access to all of this suddenly our our surfing is just going beyond and yeah we're having a lot of chances of winning contests and stuff so we'll see how the qualifications will be. the gentleman surface who wants someone ridiculed have significantly closed the gap to the wilds elite they've snapped up a few victories in the world qualifying series which is comparable to formula 2 in my just sports. rachel prince he just won her final you need to let me be very warm and. rachel bruce is not going to be with

a good. we're bringing a lot to the table and the german team is one of the strongest teams right now little bastards are down in the evening dylan and leon can showcase just how strong they are in playa how most are they taking part in a local contest. so now we've got the night surfing and looks like it's going to be really fun small waves though this is something new that's coming into the industry so it's actually pretty interesting. so follow on has only competed in. surfing on to the floodlights is a brand new challenge that he initially struggles with. is very challenging but also a little scary and i couldn't see much you know these lights actually help much but it's funny you know it's something new to me the surface at night and we see all the next the next rest of the qantas goes. dylan is also adjusting to the conditions the competition is b.s.

several top surface a currently training in costa rica and they using this opportunity to test them mettle. dylan makes it to the quarter final stage. leyland's journey ends in the semi's but the policy goes on deep into the night. from bomb. costa rica took old cologne at the elim picked based on rachel and dylan meet their national team colleagues 9 athletes representing a country that they're fairly unfamiliar with the german sports and lympics museum they receive a crash course in german sports history. you know almost. no rights to insults yet being the whole team here i feel like we have built up such a good team spirit and we all get along with each other so it's like a little family. national team coach llewellyn which is outlining the next steps

leading up to the games. in may the last zones will be filled if things go to plan . and rachel have said that. the olympics are just the best of the best athlete so it's going to be really hard to make it i'm going to give it everything i've got and i think i can make it it's the most amazing thing ever i feel like i actually have a really good possibility of making it and that's what it pumps me up and next i'm going. to be are a part of the olympic history. we're part of something bigger than just surfing.

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