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Australia floods inundate Brisbane, 67 missing
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By Ed Davies
BRISBANE, Australia (Reuters) - Massive floods shut down the center of Australia's third-largest city, sent thousands fleeing from their homes and sparked panic buying of food on Wednesday as rescuers searched desperately for nearly 70...
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People stand at the edge of flood waters covering a street in the inner Brisbane suburb of West End January 12, 2011.
Credit: Reuters/ABC News/Giulio Saggin
By Ed Davies
BRISBANE, Australia |
Wed Jan 12, 2011 2:37am EST
BRISBANE, Australia (Reuters) - Massive floods shut down the center of Australia's third-largest city, sent thousands fleeing from their homes and sparked panic buying of food on Wednesday as rescuers searched desperately for nearly 70 people missing in floodwaters.
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.
The flood surge is expected to peak in Brisbane, a riverine city of two million people, before sunrise on Thursday and last for days. However, the peak will arrive within the next few hours in Ipswich, a satellite town to the west.
"The water is rising and swallowing up the city. It's really heartbreaking," said Ipswich Mayor Paul Pisasale.
Brisbane residents on Wednesday pushed food-laden shopping carts through drowned streets, others waded in shoulder-high water to rescue possessions, while boats and pontoons were ripped from moorings in the Brisbane River and smashed into bridges as the muddy brown tide gathered 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.
"I am feeling a sense of horror and awe at the power of the river. Sadly in coming hours we will see bits of people's homes float down the river," Brisbane Mayor Campbell Newman said, warning the torrent could take three to four days to subside.
Rescue crews took advantage of some rare sunshine to look for 67 people still missing from tsunami-like flash floods that tore through townships west of the city this week.
"We can take no comfort from that blue sky," Queensland state Premier Anna Bligh told reporters, predicting almost 20,000 homes could be flooded at the river's peak in what she called Queensland's worst natural disaster.
"The water and the rain have already done their damage. This is a deeply serious natural disaster."
The worsening floods are forcing economists to raise estimates of the economic impact, with one central bank board member on Wednesday saying the disaster could cut 1 percent off growth -- equal to almost $13 billion, double the previous highest estimate.
The Australian dollar sank to a fresh four-week low of $0.9803 on the comments from Warwick McKibbin, an academic and a member of the central bank's policymaking board.
Treasurer Wayne Swan in November forecast GDP growth of 3.25 percent in fiscal 2010-11, up from a 3.0 percent projection, but said spending would be cut to ensure a surplus of A$3.1 billion or 0.2 percent of GDP in 2012/13.
Food prices are surging around the country as the floods ruin Queensland crops and distribution networks. Prices for tomatoes have leapt about 200 percent in two weeks, while beef is up 11 percent and wheat has risen 4 percent in four months.
BRISBANE A DESERTED CITY
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We welcome comments that advance the story directly or with relevant tangential information. We try to block comments that use offensive language, all capital letters or appear to be spam, and we review comments frequently to ensure they meet our standards. If you see a comment that you believe is irrelevant or inappropriate, you can flag it to our editors by using the report abuse links. Views expressed in the comments do not represent those of Reuters.
Comments (2)
Peetza wrote:
“Dams…are at bursting point.” This is really serious! Time to do a super major evacuation. I don’t think they should trust the dams’ ability to hold back more water than anticipated. I mean, more than a week ago, they were saying that the worst was done. Wrong! How much more water is coming? I wouldn’t want to be below any dam anywhere near the affected area. No matter how many reassurances there are.
Jan 11, 2011 8:46pm EST -- Report as abuse
Sinbad1 wrote:
Get a grip and deal with it.
Jan 12, 2011 1:55am EST -- Report as abuse
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