Monday, December 28, 2009

Extreme regenval treft delen Australie.. ( BBc)

Flooding follows torrential rain in parts of Australia

Torrential rain caused flooding in parts of the Australian state of New South Wales on Monday.

Some areas had up to 300 millimetres (12 inches) of rain and large swathes of land have been submerged in water.

Despite the flooding, many farmers in the drought-stricken state were relieved to see so much rain.

One farmer said it was his best rain in a decade, and was falling at the right time of year to benefit his land.

According to the Bureau of Meteorology, central, northern and western parts of New South Wales were expected to be affected by flooding.

Heavy rain also fell over Sydney's northern shores, causing some road closures.

In the neighbouring state of Queensland forecasters expect rain to continue for the rest of the week in central and western areas, however water levels in dams in the southeast of the state have not risen after recent rainfall there.