Brisbane residents have taken to their flooded
streets in canoes.
Queensland Premier Anna Bligh says the
state is reeling from the worst natural
disaster in its history, after floods left
swathes of it under water.
Ms Bligh said that rebuilding would be a task of
"post-war proportions".
Powerful flood waters have surged through the
state capital, Brisbane, leaving thousands of
homes submerged.
The floods peaked at a lower level than expected
but 30 suburbs are under water.
Huge amounts of debris - cars, boats and jetties -
have been floating downstream, some smashing
into bridges.
One man died when he was sucked into a storm
drain and two more deaths elsewhere were
reported by Australian broadcaster ABC, bringing
the toll from this week's flooding to 15, with
dozens more missing.
The Brisbane River was expected to continue to
fall to around 3.2m by early on Friday.
It peaked at 4.46m (14.6ft) just before 0530
(1930GMT Wednesday), short of the 5.4m (17.7ft)
in the 1974 floods.
West of Brisbane, the small town of Goondiwindi
is on high alert, with fears the flooding Macintyre
River could swamp the town.
Police are continuing to search areas of the
Lockyer Valley for those missing after a torrent of
water swept through the area on Monday.
'Devastation'
"Queensland is reeling this morning from the
worst natural disaster in our history and possibly
in the history of our nation," Ms Bligh told
reporters.
"We've seen three-quarters of our state having
experienced the devastation of raging floodwaters
and we now face a reconstruction task of post-
war proportions."
In Brisbane, the worst-hit suburbs included
Brisbane City, St Lucia, West End, Rocklea and
Graceville.
"There will be some people that will go into their
homes that will find them to be never habitable
again," Ms Bligh said.
Brisbane Mayor Campbell Newman said 11,900
homes and 2,500 businesses had been
completely flooded, with 14,700 houses and
2,500 businesses partially submerged.
Milton resident Brenton Ward reached his home
in the suburbs by rowing boat.
"We have water to the waist in the living room.
We have to check the amount of damage -
probably (the) electricity has to be all rebuilt," he
said.
Many supermarkets in the city have been stripped
of supplies, while a number of rubbish collections
and bus services have halted. More than 100,000
properties had their power cut.
Where waters had receded in the city centre,
sticky mud remained. Officials said the clean-up
could take months.
Brisbane airport survived the swell and remains
open, with almost all flights unaffected. However,
passengers are advised to check before travel.
Public transport to the airport is severely limited.
Extra police have been brought in to patrol the
city.
The man who died was a 24-year-old who had
gone to check on his father's property and was
sucked into a storm drain.
The bodies of two victims of floods earlier this
week were also found, one in the Lockyer Valley
and the other in Dalby, ABC said
Source: Http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-asia-pacific-12179213
0 comments:
Post a Comment