Perilous
Times
Fierce Floods have created a Massive 'inland sea' in
Australia
by Staff Writers
Sydney (AFP) Feb 3, 2012
Major flooding hit parts of Australia's east Friday, stranding
thousands of residents, prompting a military airlift and leaving
some communities only accessible by helicopter.
The deluge, which has sparked dozens of rescues and left about
7,275 people isolated in various parts of New South Wales state
has also impacted Queensland to the north where some regions have
been declared a natural disaster zone.
"From the air it looks like an inland sea," New South Wales
Premier Barry O'Farrell said after visiting the region.
Evacuations have been ordered from some houses and businesses in
the New South Wales town of Moree, where more than 600 people
registered with an evacuation shelter as the Mehi River peaked,
the State Emergency Service said.
"The town of Moree is inundated with water -- so north Moree is
not only cut off, but many of the properties there are flooded,"
O'Farrell said.
"As you fly over the centre of the town there are streets that
look like canals that have more relevance to Venice than north
western New South Wales."
A Royal Australian Air Force C-130 Hercules aircraft was moving
bedding to Moree, as locals sandbagged buildings against the Mehi
and rising Gwydir river as the water hit levels not seen in
decades.
In Queensland, the inland town of Roma was cut off by floodwaters
which are threatening scores of homes and expected to more further
west towards Charleville on Saturday where there were fears
whether the levy would hold.
As the crisis deepened, unprecedented floodwaters isolated an
evacuation centre in the Queensland town of Mitchell, forcing
authorities to relocate about 300 people who had taken shelter
there.
"The waters are still rising and we've already seen it exceed the
previous record (from) some time in the 1800s," Queensland Premier
Anna Bligh said.
"These are very, very difficult circumstances for the people of
this town."
Bligh said Mitchell's hospital had also been evacuated and five
schools closed amid fears the Maranoa river could reach a record
level of 10 metres (33 feet).
In New South Wales, the Mehi river has now peaked but the water is
expected to remain for several days and authorities have warned of
the dangers of floodwaters.
"It's a huge logistical operation with a major flood," SES Deputy
Commissioner Steve Pearce told the Seven Network.
"There have been some circumstances where we've had to use one if
not all of our 18 helicopters to airlift people out of some
isolated areas.
"Fortunately most people abided by those evacuation orders."
The floods come just over a year after massive floods deluged much
of Queensland and northern New South Wales, swamping mines and
farmland, wiping out entire hamlets and bringing the city of
Brisbane to a watery standstill.
As the rains continued, Moree mayor Katrina Humphries said while
her town was well prepared, there was no telling when the downpour
would end.
"Mother Nature has her way and she'll stop crying when it suits
her," she said.