Sydney - Heavy rains battered east Australia on Tuesday, triggering evacuation orders for thousands of flood-weary residents. This is the second such evacuation this month amidst warning from authorities that intense weather is likely to persist for the next 24 hours.

The death toll from the latest floods rose to two as a man was found deceased in Queensland state after his vehicle became stuck in floodwaters.

Town across northern New South Wales and southeast Queensland were still battling to clear tonnes of debris after devastating floods earlier in March that killed at least 21 people and swept away hundreds of farms, houses and livestock.

Many buildings flooded a month ago in some of the worst-hit regions are expected to be flooded again, New South Wales Emergency Services Minister Stephanie Cooke told reporters.

Amid the recovery efforts, the Bureau of Meteorology on Tuesday warned of potentially life-threatening flash floods along the northern New South Wales coast across a distance of more than 500 km. The weather bureau said, isolated rainfall of up to 300 mm (12 inches) could be expected in some regions over six hours.

Amid criticism over slow relief, Prime Minister Scott Morrison, behind in polls in an election year, has declared the floods a national emergency and allocated extra recovery funds in flood-stricken catastrophe zones.

For the second straight year, summer on Australia's east coast has been dominated by the La Nina weather pattern, typically associated with increased rainfall, with many rivers already near capacity before the latest outpour. Official data showed that some places received around 280 mm of rain over a 24-hour period up to 9 a.m. on Tuesday.
-Reuters