Australian Floods Decimate Crops, Evacuate People (Video)

Chinchilla, Queensland on Dec. 28, after entire towns were inundated by the worst deluges in decades. (Jeff Camden/AFP/Getty Images)

Floodwaters Continue to Rise in Queensland, Australia
(NTD Television)

Flooding across Australia’s northern state of Queensland continues, with inland communities evacuating as fast as the water levels continue to rise, according the Australian Broadcasting Corporation (ABC).

Authorities have issued emergency alerts as flood water continues to run into already overflowing rivers and tributaries, ABC said.

“For many communities we haven’t even seen the peak of the flood waters yet, that’s a number of days away,” said Julia Gillard, Australia’s Prime Minister, according to AFP.

“Some communities are seeing flood waters higher than they’ve seen in decades”, she added, “and for some communities flood waters have never reached these levels before (in) the time that we have been recording floods.”

The Dalby community, on the northern Darling Downs, might soon be out of drinking water with just two days left after the region’s water treatment plant was inundated, reports the Sydney Morning Herald.

Queensland’s south-east coastal town, Bundaberg, is seeing the worst floods in some 60 years with the swollen Burnett River continuing to rise, cutting the town in two.

Bundaberg Deputy Mayor Tony Ricciardi said the Burnett River reached 7.9 meters about 5 a.m. Thursday, as warned by the weather bureau.

“We have a few homes that are totally underwater. Another 400 would at least have had water come in over the floor.”

Meanwhile, hundreds of motorists travelling the main Bruce Highway have been left stranded and turned away from the towns enroute.

Cotton crops, sunflower farms, and other crops in the region have been decimated, the total damages potentially running into US$1bn.

Ms. Gillard issued a public appeal on Wednesday for relief funds and has pledged to provide the affected areas $US1 million, the AFP reported.

Queensland Premier Anna Bligh has also launched an appeal, saddened for those families affected by flooding during the Christmas holiday break.

“It is impossible not to feel for those Queensland families who have lost everything in these floods, particularly so close to Christmas,” Bligh said.

“The resilience of these Queensland communities is certainly on display but the worst is far from over and they need our help.”