Floodwaters to worsen in Australia
Source: Agencies |
January 12, 2011, Wednesday
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Print Edition
Print Edition
AUSTRALIAN authorities urged thousands of residents to leave the outskirts of Brisbane yesterday as others sandbagged homes and stockpiled food in anticipation of rising floodwaters and more heavy rain.
Ten people died overnight, with cars and pedestrians swept away in a "super storm" that sent water raging through the streets of Toowoomba, west of Brisbane, the country's third biggest city. More than 40 people were pulled from rooftops by helicopters but 78 were missing.
The worst flooding in Queensland state in 50 years has killed 14 people in the past two weeks, but police warn the death toll could rise significantly, fearing many people may have drowned trapped in submerged cars and homes.
A flight in a small plane over the area around Brisbane revealed a waterlogged landscape with houses marooned in vast muddy lakes, mine sites and factories engulfed, as well as roads severed by streaming torrents.
The streets of Brisbane were largely deserted yesterday evening, with 80 suburbs set to be flooded ahead of the crest of the swollen Brisbane River, expected tomorrow.
Families have moved to evacuation centers in Brisbane and neighboring Ipswich, where a third of the town was expected to be submerged as water levels reach a peak overnight.
About 1,500 people were sheltering in centers as waters spilled from 16 Queensland dams. A further four dams, including Brisbane's big Wivenhoe Dam, released huge quantities of water, adding to the surge.
Police said 9,000 homes in Brisbane would be flooded by tomorrow and 30,000 properties would suffer some inundation.
"The situation has obviously demonstrably deteriorated," Brisbane Mayor Campbell Newman said. "Today is very significant, tomorrow is bad, and Thursday is going to be devastating for the residents and businesses affected."
The floods have at times covered an area bigger than France and Germany combined and caused an estimated US$6 billion in damage, inundating 70 towns, some twice in recent weeks.
The floods have brought the state's US$25 billion coking coal export industry to a virtual standstill, hit tourism and devastated agriculture.
The floods will also hit economic growth this year, heighten inflation as food prices rise and dampen retail spending. They are also forecast to prompt Australia's central bank to delay an expected interest rate rise from February to May.
"We need to make every effort to stay calm and stick together. If you live on high ground, now is the time to reach out and offer help to neighbors ... and offer a bed for the night," Queensland state Premier Anna Bligh said.
Ten people died overnight, with cars and pedestrians swept away in a "super storm" that sent water raging through the streets of Toowoomba, west of Brisbane, the country's third biggest city. More than 40 people were pulled from rooftops by helicopters but 78 were missing.
The worst flooding in Queensland state in 50 years has killed 14 people in the past two weeks, but police warn the death toll could rise significantly, fearing many people may have drowned trapped in submerged cars and homes.
A flight in a small plane over the area around Brisbane revealed a waterlogged landscape with houses marooned in vast muddy lakes, mine sites and factories engulfed, as well as roads severed by streaming torrents.
The streets of Brisbane were largely deserted yesterday evening, with 80 suburbs set to be flooded ahead of the crest of the swollen Brisbane River, expected tomorrow.
Families have moved to evacuation centers in Brisbane and neighboring Ipswich, where a third of the town was expected to be submerged as water levels reach a peak overnight.
About 1,500 people were sheltering in centers as waters spilled from 16 Queensland dams. A further four dams, including Brisbane's big Wivenhoe Dam, released huge quantities of water, adding to the surge.
Police said 9,000 homes in Brisbane would be flooded by tomorrow and 30,000 properties would suffer some inundation.
"The situation has obviously demonstrably deteriorated," Brisbane Mayor Campbell Newman said. "Today is very significant, tomorrow is bad, and Thursday is going to be devastating for the residents and businesses affected."
The floods have at times covered an area bigger than France and Germany combined and caused an estimated US$6 billion in damage, inundating 70 towns, some twice in recent weeks.
The floods have brought the state's US$25 billion coking coal export industry to a virtual standstill, hit tourism and devastated agriculture.
The floods will also hit economic growth this year, heighten inflation as food prices rise and dampen retail spending. They are also forecast to prompt Australia's central bank to delay an expected interest rate rise from February to May.
"We need to make every effort to stay calm and stick together. If you live on high ground, now is the time to reach out and offer help to neighbors ... and offer a bed for the night," Queensland state Premier Anna Bligh said.
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