After 'black summer' come the floods

All the bushfires in Australia's hard-hit state of New South Wales have been brought under control, firefighters said yesterday, signaling the end of a "black summer" that claimed 33 lives.

"There's still some fire activity in the far south of the state but all fires are contained," the state's fire service deputy commissioner Rob Rogers said.

Attention has now turned to tackling the anticipated flash floods following the heaviest rains in 30 years.

Dams near Sydney yesterday overflowed after days of torrential rain. These include the Nepean dam, which was just a third full less than a week ago.