Brisbane prepares for the worst as record floods imminent

brisbane

Recent floods that created havoc in parts of Australian state Queensland and ran a path of destruction in scenes described by witnesses as an “inland tsunami”, are now on the brink of causing major damage to Brisbane CBD and some of its low lying suburbs.

Queenslanders are bracing for the calamity as the state capital Brisbane is facing its worst floods in the recent memory with thousands of businesses and home facing extensive damage. Major Quensland towns of Rockhampton, Gympie and Toowoomba were the most affected in the recent deluge. Persistent rain, overflowing creeks and peaking rivers, with many instances of flash flooding, caused a chain of floods that media described as “biblical”. However the focus now shifts to Brisbane as the Brisbane river has already broken its banks and the water level is on the rise. Residents from risky areas were already evacuated as Special Emergency Services worked around the clock to prepare for the deluge. There is hope as the weather is expected to improve with rain already ceasing, and once the critical period of 24 – 48 hours passes, the worst is expected to be over.

The Queensland floods have so far caused 10 deaths with over 50 missing, and the toll is expected to rise. Some of the video footage taken showed scenes that were reminsecent of the tsunami.Torrent floods swept away cars if they were debris,  people clinging on to whatever the could get hold of, and at least one case where a family was seen taking refuge on top of the roof of a house inundated by flooding, later rescued by Helicopter.

The flood crisis is also expected to have an impact on the Australian economy as coal mining was hit badly, with many other businesses in the affected areas coming to a standstill. With many roads blocked and some towns cut-off by floods, there is widepread disruption to the daily life. Major part of the state (75%) of Queensland currently declared as disaster zone, indicating the extensiveness of the impact this  unforeseen natural catastrophe has caused.

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Posted by Crazymcnick81@yahoo.com on Jan 11 2011. Filed under Featured, New. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0. Both comments and pings are currently closed.