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Rainin Oz

2 posts2011live thread
Outlaw
Bede
I read that Oz is currently being hit hard by massive rains and floods and there are displaced people in the excess of 200K. Hope this is not as bad as depicted in the papers, and that everyone there is safe.
Bede
I think that the area underwater in Queensland is about the size of France and Germany combined. Much of the area involved is relatively lightly settled, but there are a few major towns threatened. In some places the floods are the biggest since 1918.

Very few people have been hurt or killed so we are really fortunate. The property damage is enormous and many people have returned to their homes to find that they had gone completely underwater and everything is ruined. many farmers have had their crops destroyed and since we have had a long drought, they were depending on these crops to recover their financial stability.

The emergency services have both professionals and volunteers helping people evacuate or temporarily relocate. The government has declared areas to be natural disaster zones which means people can get government help in the form of money and supplies. Of course charities are also helping and sometimes getting food and other essentials into the affected regions.

The next big problem will be water-borne diseases since so many water treatment plants and sewage works have gone under water, they are shipping in clean water.