Australians evacuate flood-hit Queensland towns Skip to main content

Australians evacuate flood-hit Queensland towns


Aerial footage shows the extent of the flooding in Queensland

Related stories

Flooding in north-eastern Australia has forced residents to evacuate towns and closed down more than 300 roads.
In one town, Theodore, 300 residents are being flown out by a fleet of helicopters after floodwaters swamped buildings.
The floods have caused hundreds of millions of dollars worth of damage to sunflower and cotton crops.
The state government of Queensland has declared several areas disaster zones.
The state capital, Brisbane, has recorded its wettest December in more than 150 years. Cyclone Tasha, which hit Queensland on Saturday, also brought torrential rain to the state.
'Still coming' The river in Theodore had passed its previous recorded high by more than 50cm (20in), Emergency Management Queensland spokesman Bruce O'Grady told Australian TV ABC.
Map
"We're in unchartered territory in that area. The bureau is indicating it could go higher," he said.
Inland towns such as Chinchilla and Dalby are all under water; the nearby town of Warra, and the towns of Alpha and Jericho, west of Emerald, have also been declared disaster zones.
Officials said although the rain was easing in some areas, more flooding was expected as the water drained through towns to the sea.
"There's an enormous amount of water still coming and I think that's the problem, the unknown we've got to face," Western Downs Mayor Ray Brown told ABC.
Brent Finlay, president of the farmers' lobby group AgForce, said the floods could cause up to $403m (£261m) in damage to crops.
"It's just devastating. This was going to be the crop that got a lot of farmers back on their feet after the drought," Mr Finlay said.
Further south, in New South Wales, about 175 people who had spent the night in evacuation centres have returned home.
But 800 people in the towns of Urbenville and Bonalbo are expected to be cut off for another 24 hours.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-asia-pacific-12084735

Comments

Popular posts from this blog

Chronology of the Press in Burma

1836 – 1846 * During this period the first English-language newspaper was launched under British-ruled Tenasserim, southern  Burma . The first ethnic Karen-language and Burmese-language newspapers also appear in this period.     March 3, 1836 —The first English-language newspaper,  The Maulmain Chronicle , appears in the city of Moulmein in British-ruled Tenasserim. The paper, first published by a British official named E.A. Blundell, continued up until the 1950s. September 1842 —Tavoy’s  Hsa-tu-gaw  (the  Morning Star ), a monthly publication in the Karen-language of  Sgaw ,  is established by the Baptist mission. It is the first ethnic language newspaper. Circulation reached about three hundred until its publication ceased in 1849. January 1843 —The Baptist mission publishes a monthly newspaper, the Christian  Dhamma  Thadinsa  (the  Religious Herald ), in ...

Sri Bhaddanta Chandramani Mahathera

The Life Story of A Distinguished And Outstanding Bhikkhu The Most Venerable Saradawpharagree Sri Bhaddanta Chandramani Mahathera The Buddhist missionary Saradaw Ashin U Chandramani was endowed with great gifts and led a famous and long life. He was a very well known, distinguished and outstanding Bhikkhu Mahathera. While living in the Kushinagar Monastery, a place close to where the Lord Buddha had passed away to Nirvana, the Government of India had offered, and he had accepted, the highest, most honourable and respected title "Guru Guru MahaGuru". He became the first ever President of all Buddhists in India.A World Buddhist Conference took place in Kathmandu during the reign of King Mahindra of Nepal. The Conference was very well attended by over one hundred thousand Buddhists from various parts of the world and it was opened by King Mahindra himself. As requested by the King, Saradawpharagree blessed all the participants with the power of Triple Gems...

Thai penis whitening trend raises eyebrows

Image copyright LELUXHOSPITAL Image caption Authorities warn the procedure could be quite painful A supposed trend of penis whitening has captivated Thailand in recent days and left it asking if the country's beauty industry is taking things too far. Skin whitening is nothing new in many Asian countries, where darker skin is often associated with outdoor labour, therefore, being poorer. But even so, when a clip of a clinic's latest intriguing procedure was posted online, it quickly went viral. Thailand's health ministry has since issued a warning over the procedure. The BBC Thai service spoke to one patient who had undergone the treatment, who told them: "I wanted to feel more confident in my swimming briefs". The 30-year-old said his first session of several was two months ago, and he had since seen a definite change in the shade. 'What for?' The original Facebook post from the clinic offering the treatment, which uses lasers to break do...