Disease fears rise as Australia soaks in sewage-contaminated floodwaters.
Pastor Dale Morgan
Tuesday June 12, 9:57 AM Reuters
*Disease fears rise as Australia soaks in **sewage-contaminated
floodwaters.*
By Michael Perry
SYDNEY (Reuters) - Australians mopping up their flood damaged homes in
the Hunter Valley and Central Coast north of Sydney were warned on
Tuesday to protect themselves from disease in the sewage-contaminated
floodwaters.
Up to 60 sewerage pumping stations in the Hunter Valley and 40 on the
Central Coast were without power after a major storm battered
Australia's east coast, killing nine people, beaching a coal ship and
leaving homes and farms flooded.
"People should treat all floodwater as if it is contaminated," New South
Wales State Emergency Services (SES) spokeswoman Kim Palmer told local
radio. "They should wash extremely thoroughly after they come in contact
with floodwater."
Health authorities fear outbreaks of gastro-intestinal illness as
thousands of Australians begin repairing their homes, after the worst
flooding in the Hunter Valley for 30 years.
Thousands of Australians started returning home on Monday after
floodwaters in the wine-making valley eased and the coastal storm lost
intensity. But many farms remained drowned in floodwaters, which may
take days to recede.
"We've got 1,000 people isolated up and down the valley," said SES
spokesman Steve Delaney. "This morning we've got a helicopter supply
drop to about 100 people."
"We're still looking at several days before the flood waters recede for
a lot of these communities to be even open to the rest of the world
again," Delaney said.
"The flooding isn't a real issue at the moment it's just going to be the
massive clean-up operations," he said.
Cattle farmer Gordon Howard said he would struggle to feed his cattle
after rescuing them from his flooded farm.
"We had about 250 head of cattle in 1.5 metres of water. We had to cut
fences, stampede them and swim them out. They got frantic," said Howard.
"We are a lot better off than a lot of people."
Some 30,000 homes remain without power as a result of the storm and
electricity officials said some would remain without power for a week as
power lines and poles had been destroyed.
Despite the flooding rains, Sydney's main catchment area received very
little rain, with just 40 mm falling in the city's main Warragamba Dam.
The wild seas which beached the bulk carrier "Pasha Bulker" on Friday
had eased and a salvage crew was planning to refloat the stricken ship,
possibly on Wednesday.
Authorities had feared a marine disaster if the giant ship broke up and
spilt its 700 tonnes of fuel and oil. The salvage team has discovered a
hole in the external hull of the ship, but believe a second internal
hull has not been pierced.
Coal loading operations at Newcastle, one of Australia's major coal
export ports, were expected to resume on Tuesday after being stopped due
to rough seas, with 50-plus empty coal ships offshore awaiting loading.
But coal trains from mines in the Hunter Valley have been cut due to
track damage and are not expected to resume until Friday, June 15 at the
earliest, said the Port Waratah Coal Services.
"There are a number of washaways of all rail tracks, some instability
and land slips on several embankments and flooding and electrical
systems impacted," said the coal operator.
The coal operator said an estimated two million tonnes of coal
throughput may have been lost due to the flooding and storm.
($1=A$1.21)