Residents of flooded Australian city face long recovery

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...

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
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...

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...

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 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...

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...

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...

Australian city cut off by floods braces for more
In this Tuesday, Jan. 4, 2011 photo,. floodwaters are seen in Depot Hill, Rockhampton, Australia. Floods that have cut air, rail and road links to an Australian coastal city are now threatening its sewage plant, and waters are still expected to rise another few feet before peaking Wednesday. Weary residents of a flooded Australian coastal city braced for water levels to peak Wednesday, as state officials held an emergency meeting to help determine recovery plans for the 200,000 people affected ...

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...

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...

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...

Draining flooded Australia mines could take weeks
By Rebekah Kebede and Daniel Munoz ROCKHAMPTON/PERTH, Australia | Thu Jan 6, 2011 2:51am EST ROCKHAMPTON/PERTH, Australia (Reuters) - Australia's flood-stricken Coal Industry faced lengthy disruptions on Thursday, with one miner saying it could take weeks to drain its pits of water and a major port suspending export shipments because of a lack of coal. Floods have swamped mines in Queensland state, paralyzing operations that produce 35 percent of Australia's estimated 259 million tonnes of ex...

Australia floods cause "catastrophic" damage
By Daniel Munoz ROCKHAMPTON, Australia | Tue Jan 4, 2011 9:24pm 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, left towns virtual islands in a muddy inland sea, cut major rail and ro...

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, ...

Australian city cut off by floods braces for more
ROCKHAMPTON, Australia (AP) — 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 highes...

Draining flooded Australia mines could take weeks
SYDNEY | Wed Jan 5, 2011 8:30pm EST SYDNEY (Reuters) - Northern Australia's flood-stricken Coal Industry braced for prolonged shut-downs on Thursday when a major miner said it could take weeks to drain its pits and resume digging. London-listed Anglo American, one of the country's top-three miners of steel-making coal, said it was preparing to pump water out of its flooded mines but that it was too early to say when these collieries could resume production. "Our focus is currently on mobilizi...

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 ...

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...

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...

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...

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 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...

Emergency airlifts for flooded Queensland
A huge relief operation was under way in Queensland last night as the Military airlifted emergency supplies of food and medicine to thousands of people hit by widespread Flooding. At least 50 tonnes of essential goods was being flown to the worst-hit areas, including Rockhampton, where the Fitzroy River is expected to peak tomorrow. The coastal city has been effectively cut off since the weekend, when the airport runway was closed and main roads flooded. At least a thousand residents were expect...