Brisbane River surges and floods some suburbs
Source: Agencies |
January 22, 2011, Saturday
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THE river that submerged vast swaths of Australia's third-largest city last week surged again yesterday and began flooding some Brisbane suburbs, as rivers in Australia's southeast soared to record heights.
The weeks-long crisis has cost Australia at least US$3 billion in lost farming and coal exports and has shown no sign of easing.
Homes, business and a race course in suburbs of Brisbane hit hard last week flooded again yesterday, as city residents sandbagged their homes. An exceptionally high tide combined with rain engorged the main river running through the Queensland state capital yesterday, and Mayor Campbell Newman urged people in low-lying areas to be prepared.
The Brisbane River is expected to remain high until tomorrow. State Premier Anna Bligh warned that more flooding was possible, but she was hopeful the worst was over.
"We may see some localized flooding, which will be heart breaking if it happens," said Bligh. "We got a little bit of rain overnight, but not some of the rain that might have otherwise complicated this event, so fingers crossed."
In southeast Victoria state, hundreds of homes faced threats over the weekend as four rivers northwest of the state capital Melbourne were expected to reach their highest peaks in a century, said Lachlan Quick, spokesman for the State Emergency Service.
Eastern Australia has endured weeks of massive flooding that the government says could be the nation's most expensive natural disaster ever. It shut down much of Queensland's lucrative coal industry and has caused 30 deaths.
The Queensland floods will cut coal exports by 16.5 million tons by March, the Australian Bureau of Agricultural and Resource Economics and Sciences said yesterday.
The government's main forecaster on the farming and mining industries said the lost exports are worth up to A$2.5 billion (US$2.5 billion).
Australian farm produce - most of which is exported - will be cut by at least US$500 million in the fiscal year ending June 30, the bureau said.
Global credit ratings agency Fitch Ratings estimated yesterday that between 30,000 and 40,000 houses were damaged by the floods in Queensland alone.
Australia is the driest continent after Antarctica and has been hit by the worst drought in over a century.
The weeks-long crisis has cost Australia at least US$3 billion in lost farming and coal exports and has shown no sign of easing.
Homes, business and a race course in suburbs of Brisbane hit hard last week flooded again yesterday, as city residents sandbagged their homes. An exceptionally high tide combined with rain engorged the main river running through the Queensland state capital yesterday, and Mayor Campbell Newman urged people in low-lying areas to be prepared.
The Brisbane River is expected to remain high until tomorrow. State Premier Anna Bligh warned that more flooding was possible, but she was hopeful the worst was over.
"We may see some localized flooding, which will be heart breaking if it happens," said Bligh. "We got a little bit of rain overnight, but not some of the rain that might have otherwise complicated this event, so fingers crossed."
In southeast Victoria state, hundreds of homes faced threats over the weekend as four rivers northwest of the state capital Melbourne were expected to reach their highest peaks in a century, said Lachlan Quick, spokesman for the State Emergency Service.
Eastern Australia has endured weeks of massive flooding that the government says could be the nation's most expensive natural disaster ever. It shut down much of Queensland's lucrative coal industry and has caused 30 deaths.
The Queensland floods will cut coal exports by 16.5 million tons by March, the Australian Bureau of Agricultural and Resource Economics and Sciences said yesterday.
The government's main forecaster on the farming and mining industries said the lost exports are worth up to A$2.5 billion (US$2.5 billion).
Australian farm produce - most of which is exported - will be cut by at least US$500 million in the fiscal year ending June 30, the bureau said.
Global credit ratings agency Fitch Ratings estimated yesterday that between 30,000 and 40,000 houses were damaged by the floods in Queensland alone.
Australia is the driest continent after Antarctica and has been hit by the worst drought in over a century.
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