The last road into the Australian city of Rockhampton was on Monday night cut off by rising water as Queensland’s premier, Anna Bligh, warned that the floods which have overwhelmed the state may not recede for weeks.
“It looks like Rockhampton’s in the middle of an inland sea. The amount of water coming down these river systems is nothing short of astonishing,” said Bligh on a visit to the city.
“Given the scale and size of this disaster, and the prospect that we will see water sitting potentially for a couple of weeks, we will have major issues to deal with throughout January,” she said.
Rockhampton, which has 75,000 people, will be supplied by military helicopters and by barge. Fourteen tonnes of food and medical supplies were taken in on Monday by road before the highway was cut off.
The flooding has hit an area the size of France and Germany, affecting 200 000 people in more than 20 towns and cities.
Police in Rockhampton have ordered reluctant residents to leave their homes as electricity is switched off in low-lying areas. Up to 40% of the town is expected to be affected when the river peaks. Seventy people have now registered at the evacuation centre in the city, though there is space for many more: rescue workers say the centre can accommodate up to 1 500 people.
A 60-year-old man was reported to have drowned after his car was washed off a road, bringing the number who have died to three since the flooding began on Christmas Day. Two other men travelling in the same car, aged 19 and 40, survived the accident.
Ten have died since the start of the wet season in Queensland a month ago.
Acting assistant police commissioner Alistair Dawson asked people not to drive through floodwaters.
“I really want to urge people to be cautious around water,” he said. “As soon as we can open roads, we will.”
National, united response
While some areas are still bracing themselves for the full force of the flood, others are beginning the clean-up. Julia Gillard, the prime minister, has announced grants of up to Aus$25 000 for small businesses affected by the crisis.
“The extent of flooding being experienced by Queensland is unprecedented, and requires a national and united response to provide as much support to communities as we can,” she said. Gillard paid tribute to the way people were coping with the crisis, and said the government would do all it could to help them recover.
“We know there are far too many families who have had to leave not only their homes, but also their businesses. This targeted financial assistance will help them minimise their economic losses as they embark on the very difficult recovery period that lies ahead, and help businesses start trading as soon as possible,” she said.
Gillard acknowledged that the clean-up bill would be in the order of hundreds of millions of dollars.
Bligh, the Queensland state premier, said the grants would help give some certainty to people affected by the crisis.
“Making these grants available now means that primary producers, for example, can organise fodder drops for stranded cattle, knowing that there will be financial assistance for them,” Bligh said.
Queensland’s massive coal industry has also been devastated by the flooding.
“We have three-quarters of our coal fields unable to operate and unable to supply markets,” Bligh told ABC Television. “There is likely to be a significant long-term effect from that and not only nationally but internationally,” she said.
Coal is Australia’s biggest export earner, responsible for about Aus$55-billion in annual revenue. The country’s booming resources sector has been largely responsible for the strength of the economy in the past two years. – guardian.co.uk