BRISBANE, Australia - Rescuers raced Tuesday to reach people
trapped on roofs after a flash flood hurled a tsunami-like wall of
water through Australia's waterlogged east, tossing cars like toys,
killing at least eight people and leaving 72 missing.
The violent surge near the town of Toowoomba after a fresh
storm Monday escalated Australia's 2-week-old flood crisis in
Queensland state and brought the overall death toll to 18. Until
then, the flooding had unfolded slowly as swollen rivers burst
their banks and inundated towns while moving downstream
toward the ocean.
Emergency services officers plucked more than 40 people from
houses isolated overnight by the torrent that hit the Lockyer Valley
on Monday. But thunderstorms and more driving rain hampered
efforts to send helicopters to help an unknown number of other
people still in danger Tuesday.
Thousands were being evacuated from flood-prone areas, and
residents in some sections of Brisbane — Australia's third-largest
city — were being urged to move to higher ground as water from
Toowoomba's flash flooding worked its way toward the coast.
Images, real-time updates on the flooding from
breakingnews.com
Queensland state Premier Anna Bligh said four children were killed
and there were "grave concerns" for at least 11 of the 72 missing.
Many of those still stranded or unaccounted for are families and
young children, she said.
"This has been a night of extraordinary events," Bligh told
reporters. "We've seen acts of extreme bravery and courage from
our emergency workers. We know they're out on the front line
desperately trying to begin their search and rescue efforts, and we
know we have people stranded and people lost."
She said the death toll stood at eight, but that "we expect that
figure to rise and potentially quite dramatically."
Queensland has been in the grip of its worst flooding for more
than two weeks, after tropical downpours across a vast area of
the state covered an area the size of France and Germany
combined. Entire towns have been swamped, more than 200,000
people affected, and coal and farming industries virtually shut
down.
"The power of nature can still be a truly frightening power and
we've seen that on display in this country," Prime Minister Julia
Gillard said.
Monday's flash flooding struck without warning in Toowoomba, a
city of some 90,000 people nestled in mountains 2,300 feet (700
meters) above sea level. Bligh said an intense deluge fell over a
concentrated area, sending a 26-foot (eight-meter), fast-moving
torrent crashing through Toowoomba and smaller towns further
down the valley.
Police Commissioner Bob Atkinson described the events Monday
as "an inland instant tsunami, with a massive wall of water that's
gone down through the Lockyer Valley."
On Tuesday, the water was still pushing its way downstream,
flooding river systems as it moved toward the coast. Thousands
were being evacuated from communities in the water's predicted
path, and officials closed roads and highways to some areas at
high risk of being inundated. Residents in low-lying regions of the
state capital of Brisbane were urged to sandbag their homes and
later told to move to higher ground.
"We have a grim and desperate situation," Bligh said. "This took
everybody so unawares that there was no opportunity in most
cases for people to get to safety."
Rescue workers were battling more bad weather Tuesday. Heavy
rain and thunderstorms were forecast for the region for most of
the day, which could lead to more flash flooding, the Bureau of
Meteorology warned.
Deputy Police Commissioner Ian Stewart said rescue efforts were
concentrated on towns downstream of Toowoomba, including
hardest-hit Murphy's Creek and Grantham, where about 30 people
sought shelter in a school isolated by the floodwaters.
News video from late Monday showed houses submerged to the
roof line in raging muddy waters, with people clambering on top.
A man, woman and child sat on the roof of their car as waters
churned around them with just inches (centimeters) to spare.
Among the dead were a mother and her two children whose car
was swept away in the floodwaters, Bligh said. Two other
children also were killed, she said.
In Toowoomba, the waters disappeared almost as fast as they
arrived, leaving debris strewn throughout downtown and cars
piled atop one another.
The flooding in recent weeks has cut roads and rail lines across
Queensland, the state's coal industry has been virtually shut
down, and cattle ranching and farming across a large part of the
state are at a standstill.
Queensland officials have said the price of rebuilding homes,
businesses and infrastructure, coupled with economic losses,
could be as high as $5 billion.
On the other side of Australia, hot, dry conditions have sparked a
wildfire that has destroyed at least four homes. Around 150
firefighters were battling a blaze about 70 miles (110 kilometers)
south of the Western Australia state capital of Perth on Tuesday.
There have been no reported injuries.
Source: Http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/40996681/ns/world_news-asiapacific/
trapped on roofs after a flash flood hurled a tsunami-like wall of
water through Australia's waterlogged east, tossing cars like toys,
killing at least eight people and leaving 72 missing.
The violent surge near the town of Toowoomba after a fresh
storm Monday escalated Australia's 2-week-old flood crisis in
Queensland state and brought the overall death toll to 18. Until
then, the flooding had unfolded slowly as swollen rivers burst
their banks and inundated towns while moving downstream
toward the ocean.
Emergency services officers plucked more than 40 people from
houses isolated overnight by the torrent that hit the Lockyer Valley
on Monday. But thunderstorms and more driving rain hampered
efforts to send helicopters to help an unknown number of other
people still in danger Tuesday.
Thousands were being evacuated from flood-prone areas, and
residents in some sections of Brisbane — Australia's third-largest
city — were being urged to move to higher ground as water from
Toowoomba's flash flooding worked its way toward the coast.
Images, real-time updates on the flooding from
breakingnews.com
Queensland state Premier Anna Bligh said four children were killed
and there were "grave concerns" for at least 11 of the 72 missing.
Many of those still stranded or unaccounted for are families and
young children, she said.
"This has been a night of extraordinary events," Bligh told
reporters. "We've seen acts of extreme bravery and courage from
our emergency workers. We know they're out on the front line
desperately trying to begin their search and rescue efforts, and we
know we have people stranded and people lost."
She said the death toll stood at eight, but that "we expect that
figure to rise and potentially quite dramatically."
Queensland has been in the grip of its worst flooding for more
than two weeks, after tropical downpours across a vast area of
the state covered an area the size of France and Germany
combined. Entire towns have been swamped, more than 200,000
people affected, and coal and farming industries virtually shut
down.
"The power of nature can still be a truly frightening power and
we've seen that on display in this country," Prime Minister Julia
Gillard said.
Monday's flash flooding struck without warning in Toowoomba, a
city of some 90,000 people nestled in mountains 2,300 feet (700
meters) above sea level. Bligh said an intense deluge fell over a
concentrated area, sending a 26-foot (eight-meter), fast-moving
torrent crashing through Toowoomba and smaller towns further
down the valley.
Police Commissioner Bob Atkinson described the events Monday
as "an inland instant tsunami, with a massive wall of water that's
gone down through the Lockyer Valley."
On Tuesday, the water was still pushing its way downstream,
flooding river systems as it moved toward the coast. Thousands
were being evacuated from communities in the water's predicted
path, and officials closed roads and highways to some areas at
high risk of being inundated. Residents in low-lying regions of the
state capital of Brisbane were urged to sandbag their homes and
later told to move to higher ground.
"We have a grim and desperate situation," Bligh said. "This took
everybody so unawares that there was no opportunity in most
cases for people to get to safety."
Rescue workers were battling more bad weather Tuesday. Heavy
rain and thunderstorms were forecast for the region for most of
the day, which could lead to more flash flooding, the Bureau of
Meteorology warned.
Deputy Police Commissioner Ian Stewart said rescue efforts were
concentrated on towns downstream of Toowoomba, including
hardest-hit Murphy's Creek and Grantham, where about 30 people
sought shelter in a school isolated by the floodwaters.
News video from late Monday showed houses submerged to the
roof line in raging muddy waters, with people clambering on top.
A man, woman and child sat on the roof of their car as waters
churned around them with just inches (centimeters) to spare.
Among the dead were a mother and her two children whose car
was swept away in the floodwaters, Bligh said. Two other
children also were killed, she said.
In Toowoomba, the waters disappeared almost as fast as they
arrived, leaving debris strewn throughout downtown and cars
piled atop one another.
The flooding in recent weeks has cut roads and rail lines across
Queensland, the state's coal industry has been virtually shut
down, and cattle ranching and farming across a large part of the
state are at a standstill.
Queensland officials have said the price of rebuilding homes,
businesses and infrastructure, coupled with economic losses,
could be as high as $5 billion.
On the other side of Australia, hot, dry conditions have sparked a
wildfire that has destroyed at least four homes. Around 150
firefighters were battling a blaze about 70 miles (110 kilometers)
south of the Western Australia state capital of Perth on Tuesday.
There have been no reported injuries.
Source: Http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/40996681/ns/world_news-asiapacific/
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