A man paddles a kayak through floodwater in the suburb of Rocklea in Brisbane, Australia, on March 1. [Source: Darren England/EPA-EFE/Shutterstock via Washington Post]

Flooding in Maryborough, about 150 miles north of Brisbane on Australia’s east coast, on Feb. 28. [Source: AP)

Ten people have died and thousands have been forced to evacuate their homes in eastern Australia as almost a week of torrential rain and record flooding have submerged houses, washed away construction cranes and smashed boats like toys.

Flash floods had swept through 185 miles of Australia’s coast across two states by Tuesday, with warnings in place for the most populous city, Sydney, as the country endures the final months of the La Niña weather pattern.

Flooding in Maryborough along the overflowing Mary River [Source: AFP]

Storms began at the Queensland town of Gympie on Feb. 22. They drenched coastal towns on the way to the city of Brisbane, which received 80 percent of its typical annual rainfall in three days.

Brisbane registered 26.6 inches of rain from Friday to Sunday, breaking its three-day rainfall record of 23.6 inches from 1974. In the past week, it has received 31.2 inches — six times the amount it typically sees during all of February.

Queensland state Premier Annastacia Palaszczuk described the event as a “rain bomb.”

Flooding in Maryborough, about 150 miles north of Brisbane on Australia’s east coast [Source: AP]

The nation has been living under the La Niña weather pattern since November. It’s predicted to ease over the coming months. La Niña ushered in a wetter, cooler summer in northern and eastern Australia (it has contributed to dry conditions in southwest Australia; Perth is seeing its driest summer in eight years).

The pattern, which originates with cyclical changes in the Pacific Ocean, causes a cool, wet winter in the northern United States and a warmer, drier one in the southern part of the country.

In a climate outlook released Tuesday, Australia’s Bureau of Meteorology said climate change continues to affect the country, including with increased rainfall during the wet season from October to April and a “greater proportion of rainfall from high-intensity short-duration rainfall events.”