Amy Coopes Yahoo News 29 Dec 10;
SYDNEY (AFP) – Australia's Prime Minister Julia Gillard on Wednesday warned "unprecedented" flooding would worsen after entire towns were cut off and soldiers airlifted hundreds of people from northeastern towns.
Drenching rains unleashed by a tropical cyclone have left vast tracts of the state of Queensland under water, with 1,000 evacuations and 38 regions declared natural disaster areas.
Gillard launched a public appeal for relief funds, pledging one million dollars (one million US) of government money to help those hit by the "particularly devastating" deluge.
"Some communities are seeing floodwaters higher than they've seen in decades, and for some communities floodwaters have never reached these levels before (in) the time that we have been recording floods," Gillard told reporters.
"For many communities we haven't even seen the peak of the floodwaters yet, that's a number of days away."
Hundreds fled their homes in the coastal city of Bundaberg, north of Brisbane, and in nearby Emerald, while the inundated town of Theodore was completely emptied by soldiers with Black Hawk helicopters.
The area resembled a vast inland sea, with crops and farmland worth billions of dollars drowned by the downpour, said local MP Vaughan Johnson.
"I flew over the area from Alpha to Barcaldine in a helicopter yesterday and I've never seen water laying in that country (area) like it is now -- never," Johnson told ABC radio.
"It's like a delta system draining, and you've got to see it to believe it."
Some people were left homeless after the surge and were camping in evacuation centres with little more than the clothes on their backs, while others took refuge in mining camps or with family and friends.
"We've got nowhere to go, we've got no family here," said Bundaberg man Daniel Bell, whose home was completely swamped. "You feel powerless. Absolutely powerless. All you can do is pray."
Floodwaters are expected to peak Friday at Emerald, with authorities warning the disaster will exceed major floods there in early 2008 that forced 2,700 evacuations and left a damage bill in excess of 50 million dollars.
Residents of the town of Rockhampton may be forcibly evacuated later this week as the flooding spreads and there is further rain, potentially closing the city's airport and all inbound roads and railways, said mayor Brad Carter.
Rockhampton's river is forecast to sit near flood levels for as long as 10 days, putting about 400 homes at risk.
The town of Dalby, to the southwest, may run out of drinking water within two days following damage to its water treatment plant, and local authorities are considering trucking in supplies.
Economists have estimated that the flooding could cost the economy as much as seven billion dollars in agricultural losses and delays to coal shipments.
Gillard, who is on a Christmas break, said she would tour affected areas in the coming days.
Australian Downpour Spreads South, Cuts Off Towns
PlanetArk 29 Dec 10;
Heavy rain across much of eastern Australia left towns cut off by floods on Monday as the storms spread southwards and threatened agriculture and mining, forecasters said.
The deluge over the Christmas weekend has gradually moved south from northeastern Queensland to hit agricultural areas of New South Wales, with further rainfall forecast for coming days.
Up to 250 mm of rain was recorded in the 24 hours to 6 p.m. EST Sunday in parts of Queensland, as the remains of a tropical cyclone that hit the coast on Saturday moved across inland areas, Australia's Bureau of Meteorology said.
Sugar planters, wheat growers and coal miners in the affected states are among those likely to be hardest hit.
Several towns had been cut off in both states by rising floodwaters, while emergency services have evacuated families in the worst-hit areas. Gale warnings were issued for some coastal areas.
Flood warnings were in place on Monday for more than a dozen rivers in each state, while forecasters warned of the potential for flash flooding.
Much of the rain has fallen on key sugar growing areas of Queensland. Australia, a top sugar exporter along with Brazil and Thailand, this month slashed its current year sugar export forecast by 25 percent as flooding reduced sugar content of cane.
The crop damage over recent weeks has helped propel sugar prices to 30-year highs and forced the nation's biggest sugar exporter, Queensland Sugar Ltd (QSL), to buy more raw sugar from Brazil and Thailand to meet its export commitments following the wettest spring on record.
Industry body Canegrowers has said this year's crop had largely been harvested, so the rain would have less impact, but there were still concerns about sugar cane planted in the last six months and due for harvest around May.
The wheat harvest has also largely ground to a halt in affected areas.
Australia is also a leading coal exporter, much of it mined in the eastern states. Coal mines have been flooded and some producers have declared "force majeure" - indicating to their buyers that they may not be able to meet targets as originally agreed for reasons beyond their control.
(Editing by Nick Macfie)
