The Australian floods

Thousands Evacuated as Flooding Hits Eastern Australia

Thousands of people were forced from their homes in eastern Australia after floods caused by ex- tropical cyclone Oswald left four people dead, inundated towns and disrupted coal output

Bloomberg,

29 January, 2013

Helicopters airlifted 1,000 people to safety in the flood- stricken town of Bundaberg in Queensland state and 7,500 residents have been evacuated, including patients at the local hospital, authorities said. Flood warnings are in place for more than a dozen rivers in neighboring New South Wales state, where almost 2,000 people are cut off by rising waters, according to emergency services.

Farms flood in Carrara as Queensland experiences severe rains and flooding caused by ex-tropical cyclone Oswald. Photographer: Chris Hyde/Getty Images

Australian troops are assisting with rescue efforts in the two states, which account for about half the nation’s economy and experienced about A$9 billion ($9.4 billion) in lost output when they were hit by flooding and Cyclone Yasi in 2011. Other states are still battling wildfires after record temperatures earlier this month.

“The thoughts of all Australians are with those Queenslanders that have been hit hard, particularly those that have been impacted on top of the devastation two short years ago,” said Treasurer Wayne Swan, who hails from the northern state.

Four people have been killed in Queensland, including a 27- year-old man who was swept away by floodwaters and a 3-year-old boy struck by a falling tree, according to state police.

Storm System

The storm system, which brought wind gusts as strong as 125 kilometers (78 miles) per hour, has moved south of Sydney and is expected to move over sea later today, according to the Bureau of Meteorology, which lifted its severe weather warning for southeast Queensland.

The Insurance Council of Australia declared a catastrophe for parts of Queensland, where waters upturned cars and flooded streets. About 6,100 claims have been made so far with estimated insurance losses of A$72 million, according to the body.

Pockets of sugarcane crops are likely to have suffered major damage from flooding in southern Queensland, industry group Canegrowers said in an e-mailed statement. The nation’s cane production is unlikely to be significantly affected, it said.

Suncorp Group Ltd. (SUN) fell the most in five months in Sydney trading on concerns claims from the floods would reduce earnings. Suncorp, which gets more than a quarter of its premiums from Queensland, fell as much as 4.9 percent and was down 2.1 percent at 12:40 p.m. in Sydney. Insurance Australia Group Ltd. (IAG) dropped 1.4 percent and QBE Insurance Group Ltd. (QBE) slid 2.4 percent.

Flights Canceled

Virgin Australia Holdings Ltd. (VAH) canceled about 20 flights today and Qantas Airways Ltd. budget unit Jetstar scrapped flights to the Gold Coast in Queensland and Ballina in northern New South Wales.

The flooding affected mines and railways in Queensland, the world’s biggest source of coal used by steelmakers.

Production at Yancoal Australia Ltd. (YAL)’s Middlemount open-cut mine will be affected for at least three weeks after the breach of a levee bank, the company said in a regulatory filing today. Normal operations are expected to resume this week at its Yarrabee mine, it said.

BHP Billiton Ltd. (BHP), the world’s biggest mining company, was working to restore normal operations at its sites across the Bowen Basin coal region after rain affected roads and other services, spokeswoman Fiona Hadley said by e-mail today.

Coal Production

Xstrata Plc (XTA), the world’s biggest shipper of thermal coal, said operations at its open-cut mines in Queensland were back to normal after they were briefly suspended before the weekend due to rain, spokesman Francis De Rosa said by telephone today.

Newcastle Port Corp. operations are returning to normal today after it advised five coal ships and one other vessel to move their anchorages further out to sea as a precaution at the weekend, spokesman Keith Powell said by telephone.

The Hay Point, Dalrymple and Abbot Point coal terminals in Queensland resumed operations, port agent Gulf Agency Co. said yesterday in an e-mail. The loading of ships with coal resumed at Gladstone on Jan. 27, according to an e-mail from port authorities.

Coal prices surged in 2011 as heavy rainfall and flooding from Yasi engulfed mines and crimped production from companies including Rio Tinto Group and Xstrata.

Swan told Sky News yesterday that costs associated with the floods and bushfires would have an impact on the federal budget. He said it was too early to consider whether taxpayers should help cover the cost of the disasters with a special levy.