Major floods create ‘inland sea’ in Australia

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Saturday, 04 February 2012

Author / Source : AFP

Sydney, Feb 3: Major flooding hit parts of Australia’s east Friday, stranding thousands of residents, prompting a military airlift and leaving some communities only accessible by helicopter. The deluge, which has sparked dozens of rescues and left about 7,275 people isolated in various parts of New South Wales state has also impacted Queensland to the north where some regions have been declared a natural disaster zone.
“From the air it looks like an inland sea,” New South Wales Premier Barry O’Farrell said after visiting the region.
Evacuations have been ordered from some houses and businesses in the New South Wales town of Moree, where more than 600 people registered with an evacuation shelter as the Mehi River peaked, the State Emergency Service said.
“The town of Moree is inundated with water—so north Moree is not only cut off, but many of the properties there are flooded,” O’Farrell said.
“As you fly over the centre of the town there are streets that look like canals that have more relevance to Venice than north western New South Wales.”
A Royal Australian Air Force C-130 Hercules aircraft was moving bedding to Moree, as locals sandbagged buildings against the Mehi and rising Gwydir river as the water hit levels not seen in decades.
Another report adds: Growing speculation that Australian Prime Minister Julia Gillard could be dumped by her party before the end of the year forced senior ministers to rally behind her Friday after a disastrous start to 2012.
Defence Minister Stephen Smith joined a string of cabinet ministers to offer support for Gillard despite media suggestions that she could face a leadership challenge this year from Foreign Minister Kevin Rudd, who she replaced in June 2010.
Some political analysts now believe Gillard is unlikely to lead the party to the next election, due in the second half of 2013, with a move against her most likely in the latter part of the year.
“MPs are starting to think the boat is going down, and they’re starting to panic,” Monash University political analyst Nick Economou told Reuters. “I don’t think she’ll lead the Labor Party to the next election.”
The first major opinion polls for 2012 found government support stalled near record lows, while online bookmakers Sportsbet Friday said odds on Rudd returning as leader by the end of the year have shortened to just $1.20 for a $1.00 bet.
“I’m a strong supporter of the Prime Minister. I think she’s doing a very good job in very tough circumstances,” Smith told Australian television from Brussels.     AFP