Extreme weather

Australia: Lismore flooded by Ex-Cyclone Debbie

Australian authorities ordered the evacuation of thousands of people in several areas of the northeastern coast of the country today due to the risk of flooding after Cyclone Debbie on Tuesday. 

The cyclone was lowered to tropical storm shortly after touching ground in the state of Queensland but the storm has continued affecting with strong winds and torrential rains that have extended to the south until the state of New South Wales. 

It is in this second jurisdiction where emergency services ordered the "immediate" evacuation of residents in the localities of Lismore, Murwillumbah and Tweed Heads on fears that the floods will deteriorate during the night. 

The Bureau of Meteorology predicts that the level of the Wilsons River in Lismore, a city of more than 25,000 people already flooded, will increase by 11 meters on Friday morning, more than in previous floods in 2001 and 2005, according to The ABC chain. In Queensland, torrential rain continued to fall in the capital, Brisbane, the resort town of Sunshine Coast, where new downpours are expected to lead the meteorological service to recommend neighbors to take precautions. Queensland authorities held the closure order for schools and day care centers in the south of the state until Friday, when the storm that has left some 11,000 households and businesses without electricity is expected to subside