Flooding in Eastern Australia
Eastern states in Australia are in the grip of floods and storms. Thousands of homes in Sydney were without power earlier this week, and gale force winds uprooted trees. Emergency workers helped drivers who were stuck in flooded roads in Townsville, Queensland as 50 mm (2 inches) of rain fell in less than 40 minutes.
Heavy rain inundated communities in the north of Queensland earlier this week causing flooding and road closures. A monsoon low off central Queensland dumped more than 350 mm (almost 14 inches) of rain in the space of 24 hours in some areas. Relief crews had to be flown in because the main highway and other roads were cut off.
Heavy rain is still falling across much of central western Queensland, with sandbagging underway and residents in some areas being evacuated. The weather bureau says there could be serious flooding in parts of the state as the remains of this monsoonal low continues to bring heavy rain.
Queensland Rail (QR) says inland train services will not be running for several days because of flooding and damage on tracks.
Australia’s eastern coasts are experiencing an unusual weather pattern due to La Nina weather phenomena which is a result of the change in Pacific Ocean surface temperatures. This follows the El Nino phenomena which crippled the nation with a record drought for several years.
