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Australia floods inundate Brisbane, 67 missing
Reuters
Reuters - 29 minutes ago
By Ed Davies
BRISBANE, Australia - Thousands of residents of Australia's third-largest city evacuated homes on Wednesday as massive floods began to inundate the financial district, sparked panic buying of food and left authorities despairing for nearly 70 people missing.
The biggest floods in a century have so far killed 16 people since starting their march across the northern mining state of Queensland last month, crippling the coking coal industry, destroying infrastructure, putting a brake on the economy and sending the local currency to four-week lows.
With a flood surge expected to peak on Thursday in the state capital of Brisbane, a city of two million, residents pushed food-laden shopping carts through drowned streets as supermarkets were stripped of milk and bread staples.
At one business centre, people waded in shoulder-high water trying to rescue possessions, while on the nearby riverside boats and pontoons were ripped from moorings, crashing into bridges as the muddy brown tide gathered in strength.
At flooded intersections people paddled surfboards through floodwaters, balancing their possessions on the deck of the boards, while boats ferried evacuees to dry ground.
In the nearby city of Ipswich, which will be hit by the flood peak in the next few hours, 3,000 homes were already flooded and one third of the town is expected to be underwater at the peak.
Reuters
Reuters - 29 minutes ago
By Ed Davies
BRISBANE, Australia - Thousands of residents of Australia's third-largest city evacuated homes on Wednesday as massive floods began to inundate the financial district, sparked panic buying of food and left authorities despairing for nearly 70 people missing.
The biggest floods in a century have so far killed 16 people since starting their march across the northern mining state of Queensland last month, crippling the coking coal industry, destroying infrastructure, putting a brake on the economy and sending the local currency to four-week lows.
With a flood surge expected to peak on Thursday in the state capital of Brisbane, a city of two million, residents pushed food-laden shopping carts through drowned streets as supermarkets were stripped of milk and bread staples.
At one business centre, people waded in shoulder-high water trying to rescue possessions, while on the nearby riverside boats and pontoons were ripped from moorings, crashing into bridges as the muddy brown tide gathered in strength.
At flooded intersections people paddled surfboards through floodwaters, balancing their possessions on the deck of the boards, while boats ferried evacuees to dry ground.
In the nearby city of Ipswich, which will be hit by the flood peak in the next few hours, 3,000 homes were already flooded and one third of the town is expected to be underwater at the peak.
