Flooding in Australia's Queensland 'to last weeks'

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3 January 2011 Last updated at 15:36 GMT

Flooding in Australia's Queensland 'to last weeks'

 http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-asia-pacific-12107131

 

Devastating flood waters across the Australian state of Queensland may not recede for weeks, the state's Premier Anna Bligh has warned.

More than 20 towns in Queensland have been cut off or flooded, with more than 200,000 people affected.

Military aircraft are flying supplies into Rockhampton, which has been isolated by the still-rising waters.

The authorities have now confirmed three deaths caused by flood waters in the past few days.

At the scene

Nick Bryant BBC News, Rockhampton

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From here the city of Rockhampton looks like a small island surrounded by an inland sea.

We're still 36 hours away from the peak of the floodwaters but they have been closing in on the central business district faster than originally anticipated.

People are being ordered by police to leave their homes. They have been wading through these outlying suburbs, chest-deep at times, to tell people to leave. Many are reluctant to do so.

There have been reports of small-scale looting and many people are worried not just by the floodwaters but by the possibility their homes might be robbed by looters. That is why an evacuation centre which has room for 1,500 people had only 50 overnight.

• Roads 'like lagoons' in flood-hit town

Ms Bligh has recalled ministers from holidays for crisis talks to plan the response to the flooding.

"Given the scale and size of this disaster, and the prospect that we will see waters sitting potentially for a couple of weeks, we will continue to have major issues to deal with throughout January," she said.

Her concern was echoed earlier by Australian Prime Minister Julia Gillard, saying: "This is a major natural disaster and recovery will take a significant amount of time.

"The extent of flooding being experienced by Queensland is unprecedented and requires a national and united response."

Approximately 850,000 sq km have been affected, an area equivalent in size to France and Germany.

Australian Red Cross executive director Greg Goebel said there were seven evacuation centres currently operating, generally in town halls, gymnasiums or schools, and the army were flying in supplies.

"It is a major disaster, it's a heartbreak for many, many thousands of people and will certainly take an enormous amount of time to get their communities back to normality," he told the BBC.

'Completely stranded'

“Start Quote

If you play with water the water will win and you will come off second best, and thankfully most people have, it seems, heeded that warning”

End Quote Kay Becker Capricorn Helicopter Rescue

The comments come as the city of Rockhampton became cut off by waters spilling from the still-swelling Fitzroy River, leading many of its inhabitants to flee.

"Rockhampton is now completely stranded - a town of 75,000 people - no airport, rail or road," Ms Bligh told ABC radio late on Monday.

With the last route into Rockhampton cut, three Australian Defence Force helicopters will provide the city's only lifeline for food and medical supplies.

"The worst [is] still to come in communities like Rockhampton. Supplying them with food, ensuring that we keep them safe during this flood is absolutely critical," Ms Bligh said.

The water level in the Fitzroy River is expected to peak at 9.4m late on Tuesday or early Wednesday.

Mr Goebel said that police were enforcing evacuations in a number of suburbs, and a mobile hospital had been set up on dry ground.

Rockhampton Mayor Brad Carter said about 40% of the city could be affected, and residents may have to wait at least two weeks before being able to return home.

Kay Becker, chief executive of Capricorn Helicopter Rescue, said most people were behaving sensibly in the floods.

"People are seeing water in places that they've never ever seen it before, it's very high water, the water's running very fast, and you know, if you play with water the water will win and you will come off second best, and thankfully most people have, it seems, have heeded that warning," she said.

'Stocking up'

One Rockhampton resident told the BBC that she had stocked up on fuel and food at petrol stations as she drove back early from holiday.

"We are going to stay in, we are fully prepared, have plenty of food and have been boiling the water - but if the water gets higher than 9.4m we will have to turn the power off and might have to leave," said Trudi Reed.

 

Alex Finlayson who lives in Emerald, Queensland, filmed inside his flooded home

"The water is coming very quickly and we are watching it rise."

Another resident said there had been panic-buying in the city.

"Lots of people have been stocking up on fuel. I also heard about one woman who brought 20 loaves of bread from a supermarket," resident Petros Khalesirad told the BBC.

The intense rains have also had an impact on coal and sugar production.

The Queensland premier said 75% of operations at the state's coal fields had been halted, which supply half of the world's coking coal needed in steel manufacturing.

The state is also responsible for almost all the country's sugar production, and with cane fields drenched, Australia, usually a net exporter, will be forced to import.

Continue reading the main story

QUEENSLAND

• North-eastern Australian state
• Largely tropical climate
• Area: 1.73 million sq km (668,000 sq mile)
• Coastal regions, including Great Barrier Reef, designated World Heritage Site
• Mining and cattle ranching important inland

Prime Minister Gillard has announced that grants and low-interest loans would be made available to help local businesses recover from the flooding.

On Monday, two more deaths from the flooding were confirmed.

One was a 38-year-old man whose boat was swamped near the mouth of the Boyne River, and the other was a woman whose car was washed off the road west of Emerald.

On Sunday, another woman swept from the road while trying to cross the Leichhardt River became the first confirmed death since the flooding was declared a disaster.

Forecasters cancelled a severe storm warning on Monday, saying the immediate threat had passed.

Are you in Australia? Have you been affected by the floods? Have you been forced to leave your house? You can send your comments and pictures to us using the form below.

Massive flooding in Australia could continue for weeks

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STORY HIGHLIGHTS

• NEW: A Queensland official says 1,200 to 1,500 people are out of their homes
• Meteorologist: Flooding could continue for weeks
• At least 10 people have died in flooding since November 30
• The floodwaters cover an area the size of France and Germany combined

Sydney (CNN) -- Vast flooding covering much of eastern Australia could remain for weeks, as more than 1,200 residents remain out of deluged homes Wednesday.

As of late Wednesday night, the Fitzroy River was hovering around 9.2 meters (30 feet), CNN meteorologist Jennifer Delgado said.

"The river has crested, it appears, and it looks like it is going to be slowly falling as we go through the next several days," Delgado said.

By next week, floodwaters could remain at levels of about 8.5 meters (28 feet), Delgado said, but flooding could still affect the region for "several weeks."

The seasonal flooding in the state of Queensland intensified last month after monsoon rains caused rivers to spill over their banks and reach record levels. The floodwaters cover an area the size of France and Germany combined and now stretch into the state of New South Wales.

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Images from CNN affiliate Seven Network Australia showed residents traveling down the streets in boats. From the sky, the tops of houses and trees poked out from seas of murky brown water. Snakes whipped about from under the water's surface.

Neil Roberts, Queensland minister for police, corrective services and emergency services, said Wednesday that 1,200 to 1,500 people had to be evacuated in parts of Queensland. Roberts said some residents probably can't return to their homes for at least another week.

He said the recovery could take "many months, and potentially over a year."

Roberts said the government had an emergency cabinet meeting Wednesday and appointed a major general to lead a recovery task force.

The flooding has affected the global transport of commodities such as coal and steel, as rail lines used to move such goods out of Queensland have been destroyed.

Forecasters predict even more rain in the coming days. Delgado said 20 centimeters (8 inches) could fall through Thursday.

On Tuesday, relief teams continued rushing supplies into the eastern city of Rockhampton. In some of the state's more rural areas, farmers said they were scrambling to send tons of crops out before waters damaged them and flooding made their transport impossible.

Police said 10 people have died as a result of flooding since November 30 -- many of them swept away by swift waters.

An airport in Rockhampton, a city of about 75,000 people, closed Sunday and was expected to remain closed for weeks, according to Emergency Management Queensland.

At least 200,000 people have been affected by prolonged flooding, police have said.

Police have warned residents who have been allowed to return to their homes about placing valuables outside to dry, saying some people could be tempted to take such items. Additional police have been deployed to affected communities.

Prime Minister Julia Gillard has urged residents to stay away from the floodwater. On Friday, she toured the devastation and said the flooding in Queensland will cost "hundreds and hundreds of millions of dollars."