Thinking of migrating to downunder?
Second man killed in Australian floods
Posted: 23 May 2009 1331 hrs
SYDNEY: A man died when his car was swamped by raging floodwaters in northeastern Australia, where tens of thousands of homes have been cut off by wild weather, according to officials.
The 70-year-old's body was found near his submerged vehicle around midnight at Coffs Harbour, 540 kilometres (340 miles) north of Sydney, police said, bringing the death toll caused by the floods to two.......
It is the third time in recent months that some towns have been swamped, with the situation in Queensland the worst in more than three decades.
Floods unleashed by cyclonic rains in February saw much of the state declared a disaster area, with more than one million square kilometres deluged and 3,000 homes damaged.
Further floods hammered the region last month, washing a number of motorists to their death and claiming the life of a 12-year-old girl who was swimming in a swollen weir.
The floods follow a once-in-a-century heatwave in southeastern Australia, in which more than 2,000 homes were razed by major wildfires and 173 people died.
Meteorologists have warned the extreme temperatures and downpours - a common feature of Australian summers - would only increase as a result of climate change. AFP/yb
Full article at this link
http://www.channelnewsasia.com/stories/afp_asiapacific/view/431232/1/.html
Second man killed in Australian floods
Posted: 23 May 2009 1331 hrs
SYDNEY: A man died when his car was swamped by raging floodwaters in northeastern Australia, where tens of thousands of homes have been cut off by wild weather, according to officials.
The 70-year-old's body was found near his submerged vehicle around midnight at Coffs Harbour, 540 kilometres (340 miles) north of Sydney, police said, bringing the death toll caused by the floods to two.......
It is the third time in recent months that some towns have been swamped, with the situation in Queensland the worst in more than three decades.
Floods unleashed by cyclonic rains in February saw much of the state declared a disaster area, with more than one million square kilometres deluged and 3,000 homes damaged.
Further floods hammered the region last month, washing a number of motorists to their death and claiming the life of a 12-year-old girl who was swimming in a swollen weir.
The floods follow a once-in-a-century heatwave in southeastern Australia, in which more than 2,000 homes were razed by major wildfires and 173 people died.
Meteorologists have warned the extreme temperatures and downpours - a common feature of Australian summers - would only increase as a result of climate change. AFP/yb
Full article at this link
http://www.channelnewsasia.com/stories/afp_asiapacific/view/431232/1/.html
