Floodwaters in eastern Australia are approaching their peak as ex-tropical cyclone Oswald moves out to sea after forcing thousands of people to flee their homes and causing millions of dollars of damage.River levels in the Queensland state capital, Brisbane, where more than 3,000 properties were inundated, are retreating, according to authorities. In the New South Wales town of Grafton, waters peaked near 8.1 meters (26.6 feet) earlier today threatening to breach the local flood levee.
“We’re in that recovery mode where we start to ensure that the community is returned to normal as much as possible,” New South Wales State Emergency Service Commissioner Murray Kear told a televised news conference today.
Thousands of people were evacuated from their homes and hundreds more are isolated by floodwaters in rural settlements across the two states after the storm brought devastating winds and heavy rain. The severe weather left four people dead, disrupted mining operations in Queensland, the world’s biggest source of coal used by steelmakers, and caused an estimated A$72 million in insurance losses.
Helicopters airlifted 1,000 people to safety in the flood- stricken Queensland town of Bundaberg and 7,500 residents were evacuated, including patients at the local hospital, authorities said.
Flood warnings remain in place for more than a dozen rivers in neighboring New South Wales, although water levels in many systems are either subsiding or forecast to peak tomorrow, according to the Bureau of Meteorology.
Cyclone Yasi
Australian troops are assisting with rescue efforts in the two states, which account for about half the nation’s economy and experienced about A$9 billion ($9.4 billion) in lost output when they were hit by flooding and Cyclone Yasi in 2011. Other states are still battling wildfires after record temperatures earlier this month.
“The thoughts of all Australians are with those Queenslanders that have been hit hard, particularly those that have been impacted on top of the devastation two short years ago,” said Treasurer Wayne Swan, who hails from the northern state.
Four people have been killed in Queensland, including a 27- year-old man who was swept away by floodwaters and a 3-year-old boy struck by a falling tree, according to state police.
Insurance Claims
The Insurance Council of Australia declared a catastrophe for parts of Queensland, where waters upturned cars and flooded streets. About 6,100 claims have been made so far with estimated insurance losses of A$72 million, according to the body.
Residents in Brisbane, Logan and Ipswich are being told to conserve water over the next 48 hours after the Mount Crosby water treatment plant shut down, according to Seqwater, the state body responsible for ensuring safe supplies.
The turbidity levels in the Brisbane River are four times the level experienced during the January 2011 flood and are expected to take up to 48 hours to dissipate, it said in a statement on its website.
Pockets of sugarcane crops are likely to have suffered major damage from flooding in southern Queensland, industry group Canegrowers said in an e-mailed statement. The nation’s cane production is unlikely to be significantly affected, it said.
Suncorp Group Ltd. (SUN) fell in Sydney trading on concerns claims from the floods would reduce earnings. Suncorp, which gets more than a quarter of its premiums from Queensland, dropped as much as 4.9 percent and closed 1.9 percent lower. QBE Insurance Group Ltd. (QBE) slid 2.7 percent.
Flights Canceled
Virgin Australia Holdings Ltd. (VAH) canceled about 20 flights today and Qantas Airways Ltd. budget unit Jetstar scrapped flights to the Gold Coast in Queensland and Ballina in northern New South Wales.
The flooding affected mines and railways in Queensland and the state could take several weeks to resume full production, Queensland Resources Council Chief Executive Officer Michael Roche said in an e-mailed statement.
Production at Yancoal Australia Ltd. (YAL)’s Middlemount open-cut mine will be affected for at least three weeks after the breach of a levee bank, the company said in a regulatory filing today. Normal operations are expected to resume this week at its Yarrabee mine, it said.
BHP Billiton Ltd. (BHP), the world’s biggest mining company, was working to restore normal operations at its sites across the Bowen Basin coal region after rain affected roads and other services, spokeswoman Fiona Hadley said by e-mail today.
Coal Production
Xstrata Plc (XTA), the world’s biggest shipper of thermal coal, said operations at its open-cut mines in Queensland were back to normal after they were briefly suspended before the weekend due to rain, spokesman Francis De Rosa said by telephone today.
Newcastle Port Corp. operations are returning to normal today after it advised five coal ships and one other vessel to move their anchorages further out to sea as a precaution at the weekend, spokesman Keith Powell said by telephone.
The Hay Point, Dalrymple and Abbot Point coal terminals in Queensland resumed operations, port agent Gulf Agency Co. said yesterday in an e-mail. The loading of ships with coal resumed at Gladstone on Jan. 27, according to an e-mail from port authorities.
Coal prices surged in 2011 as heavy rainfall and flooding from Yasi engulfed mines and crimped production from companies including Rio Tinto Group and Xstrata.
Source: Bloomberg Picture: blogs.sacbee.com