Worst floods for 50 years in the Australian Queensland
With the worst floods for 50 years, a huge area in the outback has been under water in the Australian state of Queensland. The regional government said that the affected region has now been twice as large as the Australian state of Victoria – that is around 450,000 square kilometers and roughly corresponds to Sweden.
According to Queensland’s Minister of Agriculture Tony Perrett, at least 100,000 farm animals were killed in the floods or were carried away by the floods. For farmers and the agricultural industry, this is an enormous loss: « The numbers are expected to continue to rise even further. In many cases, this is their livelihood that was washed away from their nose, » said the minister.
Extremely heavy rains were preceded. Many rivers stepped over the shores. The flood is worse than a devastating flood in 1974, reported local media. The town of Thargomindah, about 1,100 kilometers west of Brisbane, was particularly bad.
« Extent of the disaster is incredible »
Numerous houses and the streets are completely under water. The news agency AAP reported that more than 200 residents had brought themselves to safety at the local airport. Many affected people had slept in their cars or in campervans.
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« The extent of the devastation is incredible, » queensland’s Prime Minister David Crisafulli quoted. Meteorologists also predict further rains so that the water masses could still rise.
