Flood Hit Australians

A "destructive" cyclone roaring towards a heavily-populated Australian province has intensified to a category five, the most severe ranking, meteorologists said early Friday as a second powerful storm made landfall further north.

Thousands of Australians were on Saturday ordered to evacuate their homes in Sydney's northwest and elsewhere in New South Wales State as heavy rainfall flooded rivers and waterways.

A "destructive" cyclone roaring towards a heavily-populated Australian province has intensified to a category five, the most severe ranking, meteorologists said early Friday as a second powerful storm made landfall further north.

Thousands of Australians were on Saturday ordered to evacuate their homes in Sydney's northwest and elsewhere in New South Wales State as heavy rainfall flooded rivers and waterways.