No Aquatic Mad Max in Australia

Australian flood victims return to muddy homes
Australian Federal Minister for Home Affairs Brendan O'Connor surveys the flooded Fitzroy River in Rockhampton, Australia, Thursday, Jan. 6, 2011. Despite the fresh rains, the overflowing river in the inundated city of Rockhampton is slowly receding. Evacuated Victims began returning to homes caked in sludge on Friday as Australia's flood crisis eased, though one sandbagged town watched nervously as a swollen river level crept higher and forecasters warned of more rain. Officials said they were...

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...

New storms soak flood-weary Australian communities
BRISBANE, Australia - Cleanup crews toiled under more pounding rains Thursday to clear mountains of debris in flood-ravaged communities across northeastern Australia, as one mayor warned it could take his city up to a year to recover from the worst Flooding in decades. Officials were only beginning to see the scope of the damage as river levels across Queensland state started dropping despite new thunderstorms. Floodwaters were expected to stay high in many areas for at least another week,...

New storms soak flood-weary Australian communities
BRISBANE, Australia (AP) — Cleanup crews toiled under more pounding rains Thursday to clear mountains of debris in flood-ravaged communities across northeastern Australia, as one mayor warned it could take his city up to a year to recover from the worst Flooding in decades. Officials were only beginning to see the scope of the damage as river levels across Queensland state started dropping despite new thunderstorms. Floodwaters were expected to stay high in many areas for at least another ...

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...

Australian mayor says flood recovery may take a year
A map showing areas in Queensland hit by flood waters. Tens of thousands of... It could take a year for Rockhampton to recover from disastrous floods, the Australian town's mayor said Thursday, as the waters threatened the neighbouring state of New South Wales. "I think that this could drag on for 12 months," Mayor Brad Carter said, adding that it would take three weeks before Rockhampton's airport reopened, even though the floods appeared to have peaked just below the expected level. "It look...

Australians Watch, And Wait, For Flooding To Recede
The worst Flooding to hit Australia in a half-century appeared to have peaked in the country's northeast on Wednesday, but residents of one coastal city were warned that it may be weeks before the waters recede. The mayor of Rockhampton, the last major town inundated by the slow-moving flood in Queensland state, said the city appeared to have been spared any further damage as the chocolate-brown floodwaters were holding below their predicted peak. The Fitzroy River, which flows through Rockhampt...

Storm 'to worsen Australia flood'
Why is Queensland flooded? More Heavy Rain is forecast for eastern Australia, threatening Flash Floods for communities where hundreds of homes are already under water. Forecasters predict central and southern Queensland will be worst hit by the latest deluge which will last into the weekend. In the city of Rockhampton about 500 homes were evacuated as the Fitzroy river peaked at 9.2m (30ft). The town of St George is braced for the Balonne river to peak by Sunday. About 1,200 homes across Queensl...

Australian mayor says flood recovery may take a year
It could take a year for Rockhampton to recover from disastrous floods, the Australian town's mayor said Thursday, as the waters threatened the neighbouring state of New South Wales. "I think that this could drag on for 12 months," Mayor Brad Carter said, adding that it would take three weeks before Rockhampton's airport reopened, even though the floods appeared to have peaked just below the expected level. "It looks like it's peaked, it's plateaued and it's showing signs of dropping," he told t...

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
Stumble This! 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 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 carryi...

Heavy rains hit Australia's flood-drenched northeast
Heavy rains threatened further Flooding in Australia's drenched northeast Thursday as besieged Rockhampton cut supplies to "irresponsible" residents who refused to leave water-bound homes. Torrential downpours could cause flash-flooding and worsen existing floods, the weather bureau said, as water levels slowly started to recede in regional centre Rockhampton, a town virtually surrounded by a brown inland sea. Australia's coal-mining and farming belt near Brisbane is suffering "biblical" floods ...

Heavy rains hit Australia's flood-drenched northeast
Heavy rains brought more misery to Australia's flooded northeast Thursday as besieged Rockhampton cut supplies to "irresponsible" residents who refused to leave their water-bound homes. Torrential downpours could cause flash-flooding and worsen existing floods, the weather bureau said, as water levels slowly started to recede in regional centre Rockhampton, a town virtually surrounded by a brown inland sea. Australia's coal-mining and farming belt near Brisbane is suffering "biblical" floods acr...

Flood recovery 'a hell of a job'
Why is Queensland flooded? The head of Queensland's flood recovery task force says it will take "a hell of a lot of work" to get devastated communities back on their feet. Maj Gen Mick Slater said infrastructure and major industries would be rebuilt as quickly as possible. Queensland has been in the grip of Australia's worst Flooding in decades, with some 200,000 people affected. More rain is forecast in central and southern areas, with new flood warnings for neighbouring New...

Sailing accident rate high, but many minor
PROVIDENCE, R.I., Jan. 6 (UPI) -- Seventy-nine percent of dinghy and keel sailors report at least one injury in the last year, but most of the injuries are minor, U.S. researchers say. Study leader Dr. Andrew Nathanson of Rhode Island Hospital said 4 percent of the injuries were considered serious enough to require Evacuation from the vessel and/or Hospitalization. "It's important to note that nearly half of the injuries reported were minor and required no treatment," Nathanson said in a statem...

Asian shares fall after weak Wall Street finish
Asian shares mostly fell in early trading Friday after the Dow Jones industrial average turned negative for the first time this year. Japan's Nikkei 225 stock average slipped 0.1 percent to 10,516.61 as investors took profits after the index hit an eight-month closing high the previous day. South Korea's Kospi was off 0.1 percent to 10,517.44, and Australia's S&P/ASX 200 lost 0.3 percent to 4,708.70. Concerns about the financial impact of the floods in northeastern Australia continued to dra...

Flooded Queensland gets more heavy rain
BRISBANE, Australia, Jan. 6 (UPI) -- Heavy Rain fell in Australia's flooded Queensland state Thursday and officials said it could take a year for ravaged towns to recover. Once again, more rain was forecast. Water levels in the worst Flooding in a half century were expected to stay high in many areas for at least one more week, with forecasters predicting Flash Floods in communities this weekend where hundreds of homes are already underwater. At least 10 people have died in weather-related incid...

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...

Flooded Australians return to mud and mess
BRISBANE, Australia — Residents of waterlogged northeast Australia returned to homes caked in sludge and nervously watched the skies for more rain Friday while waiting for swollen rivers to recede. The worst appeared to have passed from Flooding that covered an area the size of France and Germany in murky brown water for longer than a week, but torrents still posed dangers in partly-submerged towns in Queensland state and progress on assessing damage and rebuilding was slow. On Frida...

Floods threaten more Australian towns
ST. GEORGE, Australia, Jan. 7 (UPI) -- Another town in Queensland braced for floods Friday with more rain expected in the ravaged Australian state. In St. George, the Balonne River is forecast to crest Saturday above the record of 44 feet set last year, the Australian Broadcasting Corp. reported. About 30 homes are expected to be swamped, and thousands of sandbags are being filled. "I think it's reliving my time in Venice with the water just lapping outside our house and all we need now is a gon...

Australia floods cause possibly years of damage
By Daniel Munoz GLADSTONE, Australia | Thu Jan 6, 2011 9:58pm EST GLADSTONE, Australia (Reuters) - Australia's flood-stricken Coal Industry may face months of disruptions as reports emerge of key rail and road links being washed away, while some infrastructure may take years to repair, authorities said on Friday. "There are some aspects of the rebuilding of infrastructure that will take, potentially, years," Major-General Mick Slater, chief of the flood recovery operation in Queensland state,...

Paid To Lose Weight And Stop Smoking
LONDON — Can people be bribed into better health? The British Government is increasingly convinced they can. For decades, doctors have tried to persuade people to quit Smoking, exercise more and lose weight. But with mixed success on the exhortation front and facing a rising Obesity crisis, British officials are slowly abandoning the health argument and fattening peoples' wallets instead. The U.K. has tested several programs that pay people to make healthy choices. Although the trials have b...

Explosions rip munitions plant in west Tennessee
OAKLAND, Tenn. (AP) - One person is unaccounted for after a series of Explosions and a fire occurred at a munitions plant in western Tennessee. Several Explosions and fire hit the Kinematics Research plant in Oakland, which makes ammunition for Firearms. Ed Gaugh, emergency management director for Fayette County, quoted company officials as saying five people were in the plant around 1:45 p.m. Wednesday. Gaugh said the fire was controlled some 90 minutes later. The cause remained unclear. A ...

Freezing weather leads to south China evacuations
Beijing - Freezing temperatures have forced the Evacuation of nearly 60,000 people from their homes and caused more than $200 million in economic losses in southern China, the government said Wednesday. Ice and sleet have collapsed the roofs of more than 1,200 homes and forced the Evacuation of 58,000 people across the southern regions of Jiangxi, Hunan, Chongqing, Sichuan and Guizhou, the Ministry of Civil Affairs reported. Freezing weather has also damaged nearly 300,000 acres of crops, inc...

35 evacuated after train with acid tips in Mich.
No injuries were reported but 35 residents near the site of a derailed train in Shiawassee County where a tank car carrying hydrochloric acid overturned and started leaking remain displaced from their homes. Vernon Township Fire Chief Dan Bannister tells The Associated Press on Friday that 11 Canadian National Railway cars were involved in the incident about 7 p.m. Thursday in the rural community near Durand. He said three cars remain tipped over and eight derailed cars were removed from the sit...