Australia Flooding Creates Global Ripple Effect

Australian floods spread, threaten Barrier Reef
Australia's disastrous floods have spread to 40 towns and are threatening the world-famous Great Barrier Reef as tonnes of sludge pour into the sea, officials and scientists said Wednesday. As anxious residents scrambled to build emergency levees and authorities counted billions of US dollars in economic damage, researchers said the iconic reef's corals could be damaged by run-off from Australia's eastern coast. James Cook University researcher Michelle Devlin said floodwaters carrying debris an...

Australian floods spread, threaten Barrier Reef
Australia's disastrous floods have spread to 40 towns and are threatening the world-famous Great Barrier Reef as tonnes of sludge pour into the sea, officials and scientists said Wednesday. As anxious residents scrambled to build emergency levees and authorities counted billions of US dollars in economic damage, researchers said the iconic reef's corals could be damaged by run-off from Australia's eastern coast. James Cook University researcher Michelle Devlin said floodwaters carrying debris an...

Flooded Australian city faces long wait to dry out
Australia put an army general in charge of flood recovery efforts today after weeks of Heavy Rains deluged the country's northeast, crippling the area's economy, including the Coal Mining industry. Floodwaters have forced most of Queensland state's Coal Mines to shut and some may not restart production for months, ministers said at an emergency Cabinet meeting in Brisbane, the state capital. After the meeting, Queensland Premier Anna Bligh announced that Major General Mick Slater would lead th...

Australia floods cause 'catastrophic' damage
ROCKHAMPTON, Australia -- Australia's record floods are causing catastrophic damage to infrastructure in the state of Queensland and have forced 75 percent of its Coal Mines, which fuel Asia's steel mills, to grind to a halt, Queensland's premier said on Wednesday. The worst Flooding in decades has affected an area the size of Germany and France, leaving towns virtual islands in a muddy inland sea, devastated crops, cut major rail and road links to coal ports, slashed exports and forced up world...

More rain forecast for Queensland
ROCKHAMPTON, Australia, Jan. 5 (UPI) -- Officials say it's too soon to tell whether the worst is over in the in flood-ravaged portions of Queensland in Australia. Driving that concern home, the weather bureau issued a severe weather warning for flood-affected Rockhampton along the Fitzroy River basin, the Australian Broadcasting Corp. reported Wednesday. Officials said the Fitzroy would peak at 31 feet, but hydrologist Paul Birch said the river has hung around the 30-foot mark since Tuesday. Off...

Australian flood-hit towns scramble to build levees
Hundreds of Australians scrambled in the rain to build levee banks and evacuate Hospital patients Wednesday as floods that have inundated or cut off 40 towns rolled downstream. Residents of St. George, which has a history of heavy floods, flew out nursing home patients and set up a temporary Hospital as waters rose in what Queensland's Top Official called a disaster "without precedent". "Everyone is pitching in, doing what they can do," said Senator Barnaby Joyce, who lives in the town. "As soon...

Australian city hitting flood peak
Flood preparations in the inundated Australian city of Rockhampton are being put to the test as river levels hit their peak. The River Fitzroy which flows through the Queensland city is at 9.2m (30ft) and expected to hit 9.4m, having already swamped hundreds of acres. Officials say more than 400 homes will be flooded and another 4,000 will have water pouring through their gardens. Many residents have already evacuated, some forced to do so by police. More than 100 people spent the night in an e...

Flood victims warned of risk from snakes and crocodiles
Residents of a flood-hit Australian city were warned yesterday not to wade through the waist-high waters because of fears that crocodiles and snakes could be lurking. Floods that have cut air, rail and road links to Rockhampton are now threatening its sewage plant, and waters are still expected to rise another few feet before peaking today. A huge inland sea spawned by more than a week of Heavy Rain across Queensland state is making its way along the Fitzroy river toward the ocean – and Ro...

Australia: Reptiles roam free as Queensland's flooding reaches highest levels yet, global seaborne coal market down 40 percent
© Unknown An aerial view of partially submerged houses in flooded Theodore in Australia' s state of Queensland They have already been described as being of "Biblical proportions" but last night the Australian city of Rockhampton was bracing itself for even worse as flood waters were expected to reach their highest levels. In the growing crisis Military Aircraft were rushing to get supplies to residents, to whom there is now only one land access route left. Police were desperately urging...

Residents of flooded Australian city face long recovery
BRISBANE, Australia (AP) — Floodwaters in an inundated city on Australia's coast held steady below their predicted peak on Wednesday, as exhausted residents were warned they would face a long wait before the churning, muddy mess dries up. Residents of the waterlogged city of Rockhampton were hopeful the river had swelled to its highest level, with the mayor saying the community appeared to have been spared any further damage. Water from the overflowing Fitzroy River has already swamped 20...

Australia floods cause 'catastrophic' damage
Australia's record floods are causing catastrophic damage to infrastructure in the state of Queensland and have forced 75 percent of its Coal Mines — which fuel Asia's steel mills — to grind to a halt, Queensland's premier said Wednesday. The worst Flooding in decades has affected an area the size of Germany and France, left towns virtual islands in a muddy inland sea, devastated crops, cut major rail and road links to coal ports, slashed exports and forced up world coal prices. Ar...

World update: Massive flooding in Australia expected to crest
Evacuations continue: Flooding that has soaked large parts of Australia will peak Wednesday, experts say, as authorities continue to help beleaguered locals. Ivory Coast Blockade lifted: Laurent Gbagbo, self-proclaimed president of Ivory Coast, has agreed to lift a Military Blockade around the headquarters of rival and president-elect Alassane Ouattara. The move by Laurent Gbagbo came after talks between the nation's political rivals and African mediators. Rare public execution: Iran execut...

Military Flights Race To Flood-Hit Australian City
Military flights rushed Monday to restock an Australian city before it was cut off by floodwaters that have turned a huge swath of the Outback into a lake, while police confirmed two more Deaths in the crisis. Rockhampton is now completely stranded — a town of 75,000 people — no airport, rail or road. - Queensland Premier Anna Bligh Drenching rain that started before Christmas has flooded an area the size of France and Germany combined in northeastern Queensland state. Rivers are ove...

Australia flooding expected to peak
Floodwaters eased in Australia's major Coal Mining region today, allowing some mines to slowly resume production although most remained idle, as devastating floods affect some 200,000 people and force towns to be evacuated. Floods have submerged or disrupted life across an area the size of France and Germany combined, according to the premier of Queensland state. The floodwaters have brought coking coal production and exports to a virtual standstill, pushing world coal prices higher. More peop...

Australia floods force evacuations
By Daniel Munoz ROCKHAMPTON, Australia | Tue Jan 4, 2011 2:59am EST ROCKHAMPTON, Australia (Reuters) - Floodwaters eased in Australia's major Coal Mining region on Tuesday, allowing some mines to slowly resume production although most remained idle, as devastating floods affect some 200,000 people and force towns to be evacuated. Floods have submerged or disrupted life across an area the size of France and Germany combined, according to the premier of Queensland state. The floodwaters have br...

Australia floods force evacuations, recede in coal
By Daniel Munoz ROCKHAMPTON, Australia | Tue Jan 4, 2011 1:46am EST ROCKHAMPTON, Australia (Reuters) - Floodwaters eased in Australia's major Coal Mining region on Tuesday, allowing some mines to slowly resume production although most remained idle, as devastating floods affect some 200,000 people and force towns to be evacuated. Floods have submerged or disrupted life across an area the size of France and Germany combined, according to the premier of Queensland state. The floodwaters have br...

Australian city cut off by floods braces for more
ROCKHAMPTON, Australia -- Weary residents of an Australian coastal city inundated with floodwaters braced Wednesday for water levels to peak, as state officials held an emergency meeting to help determine recovery plans for the 200,000 people affected by the deluge. More than a week of pounding rains has left much of northeastern Australia under a sea of muddy water that is making its way through river systems toward the ocean. The swollen Fitzroy River was expected to reach its highest level W...

Australian city cut off by floods braces for more
ROCKHAMPTON, Australia - Weary residents of an Australian coastal city inundated with floodwaters braced Wednesday for water levels to peak, as state officials held an emergency meeting to help determine recovery plans for the 200,000 people affected by the deluge. More than a week of pounding rains has left much of northeastern Australia under a sea of muddy water that is making its way through river systems toward the ocean. The swollen Fitzroy River was expected to reach its highest lev...

Flooded Australia city faces long wait to dry out
In this Tuesday, Jan. 4, 2011 photo, an island is formed by flood water... BRISBANE, Australia (AP) - Floodwaters in an inundated city on Australia's northeastern coast held steady below their predicted peak on Wednesday as exhausted residents were warned they would face a long wait before the churning, muddy mess dries up. Residents of the waterlogged city of Rockhampton were hopeful the river had swelled to its highest level, with the mayor saying the community appeared to have been spared an...

Australia floods cause "catastrophic" damage
By Daniel Munoz ROCKHAMPTON, Australia | Wed Jan 5, 2011 5:57am EST ROCKHAMPTON, Australia (Reuters) - Australia's record floods are causing catastrophic damage to infrastructure in the state of Queensland and have forced 75 percent of its Coal Mines, which fuel Asia's steel mills, to grind to a halt, Queensland's premier said on Wednesday. The worst Flooding in decades has affected an area the size of Germany and France, leaving towns virtual islands in a muddy inland sea, devastated crops, ...

Will Global Warming Amplify The Energy Crisis? Look At Australia
One detects a slow, ironic hooray welling up from the Climate Change community this week because after a year of intense weather that’s devastated food crops worldwide now an epic flood in Australia threatens to cripple the production of coal. Accounting for 30% of global energy supply–and ready to go higher as oil supply declines–coal was thought to be permanently relegated to the 19th century only a decade ago. Now, however, coal is the go-to energy source of the developing w...

Congress Poised To Open
What is this? The 112th Congress convenes in a few hours; the House's first major decision will be to choose a new Speaker, who is expected to be John Boehner (R-Ohio). The Speaker then swears in the House. The Washington Post has the menu of events here. Over on NPR's It's All Politics blog, Frank talks about the House Republicans' determination to cut $35 million dollars and why that's really teenier than it seems. The premier of Queensland state has tapped an army commander to lead the state'...

Australian floods submerge towns, coal exports hit
GRACEMERE, Australia (Reuters) - Military Aircraft ferried supplies to an Australian town slowly sinking beneath swollen rivers on Monday, as record Flooding in the country's northeast severed roads and ports, curtailing coal exports and devastating farmland. Floods submerged the Capricorn Highway, the major traffic artery through Queensland state, and poured into homes in the sinking town of Rockhampton, sending furniture and refrigerators cascading down torrents of floodwater. Rockhampton, a ...

Crocodiles, snakes are danger in flooded Australia
Residents of an Australian city cut off by some of the country's worst Flooding in decades are being warned to stay out of the water, and not just because of the risk of being swept away: Debris, snakes and even crocodiles could also pose a danger. Large parts of the coastal city of Rockhampton were under water Tuesday. The waters were still rising, with the 75,000-strong population bracing for the floods' expected peak in the next 24 hours as a huge inland sea spawned by Heavy Rain across Queen...

Crocodiles, snakes are danger in flooded Australia
ROCKHAMPTON, Australia (AP) — Residents of an Australian city cut off by some of the country’s worst Flooding in decades are being warned to stay out of the water, and not just because of the risk of being swept away: Debris, snakes and even crocodiles could also pose a danger. Large parts of the coastal city of Rockhampton were under water Tuesday. The waters were still rising, with the 75,000-strong population bracing for the floods’ expected peak in the next 24 hours as a hu...