Two thousand people stranded by Australian floods

Flooding - yet again in Australia!


Floodwaters caused by heavy rain have cut off roads and power isolating more than 2000 people in Australia's south-eastern state of New South Wales.


the Telegraph, 

27 November, 2011

More than 900 people have called for emergency help and 29 people were rescued from the floodwaters, which on Saturday claimed the life of a three-year-old boy who was swept into a surging storm-water drain.

Officials said the northern New South Wales town of Wee Waa would be cut off for up to one week by the flooding which has reached a deph of seven metres in some parts, after several rivers in the state burst their banks during heavy rains.

The township of 1,800 will only be accessible by boat and helicopter and state emergency authorities said they were working to replenish food supplies.

Evacuations were also underway at nearby Moree, where 60 homes were expected to be cut off as floodwaters reached their peak, while some 150 rural properties in the region were already isolated.

The village of Garah, on the outskirts of Moree, was completely surrounded by water after a levy broke.

The country's weather bureau has forecast heavy rains in coming months due to a La Nina pattern in the Pacific Ocean, which is usually associated with extreme rainfall in Australia and Asia