Australia's killer floods are expected to last for weeks, it has emerged, amid reports of looting and warnings that snakes and crocodiles will be washed into homes. The flooding in the state of Queensland – the worst in Australia for half a century – began before Christmas and has affected a region the size of France and Germany combined. Three lives have been lost in the past three days, at least 22 towns and cities are inundated, 200,000 residents have been affected, ports closed and the main road through the vast farming region submerged. As forecasters predicted more heavy rainfall and flash floods over the next few days, police warned that the swollen waters would wash crocodiles and snakes into homes, but their efforts to get more residents to leave their houses have been hampered by reports of looting. In Rockhampton, a coastal town, waters from the still-swelling Fitzroy River closed the airport and cut the main highway to the state capital of Brisbane. Scores of families abandoned their homes for flood relief centres on high ground. By Monday night, floodwaters had inundated the last route into the city, Queensland premier Anna Bligh said, and they were not expected to peak in the town until tomorrow. (Daily Mail)Tuesday, 4 January 2011
Escape from 'biblical floods': Evacuation stalls as residents fear leaving their homes at the mercy of looters
Australia's killer floods are expected to last for weeks, it has emerged, amid reports of looting and warnings that snakes and crocodiles will be washed into homes. The flooding in the state of Queensland – the worst in Australia for half a century – began before Christmas and has affected a region the size of France and Germany combined. Three lives have been lost in the past three days, at least 22 towns and cities are inundated, 200,000 residents have been affected, ports closed and the main road through the vast farming region submerged. As forecasters predicted more heavy rainfall and flash floods over the next few days, police warned that the swollen waters would wash crocodiles and snakes into homes, but their efforts to get more residents to leave their houses have been hampered by reports of looting. In Rockhampton, a coastal town, waters from the still-swelling Fitzroy River closed the airport and cut the main highway to the state capital of Brisbane. Scores of families abandoned their homes for flood relief centres on high ground. By Monday night, floodwaters had inundated the last route into the city, Queensland premier Anna Bligh said, and they were not expected to peak in the town until tomorrow. (Daily Mail)