Third_Density_Resident
Jedi Council Member
I just thought I'd post this news event because it comes not long after the 15-year-old girl from Maine, Kristen Byrnes, predicted an end to Australia's drought. Given some of the other things she predicted, perhaps it's time we took them very seriously. The original article can be found here.
Nine dead as thousands forced to evacuate
Source: AAP
June 10, 2007, 4:00 pm
THOUSANDS of residents in the NSW Hunter region have been urged to abandon their homes ahead of a torrent of floodwater expected to hit the region tonight.
The death toll from the three days of wild storms reached nine today as police found the body of 45-year-old Adamstown man, Wayne Bull, who was swept into a stormwater drain in the Newcastle suburb of Lambton after getting out of his car on Griffith Road on Friday night.
At the peak of Friday's wild weather, five members of the same family were swept to their deaths when a section of the Old Pacific Highway collapsed under their vehicle and it was hit by a "wall of water'' at Somersby, near Gosford.
The bodies of 30-year-old Adam Holt and his long-term partner Roslyn Bragg, 29, were recovered from Piles Creek today, while the bodies of their two daughters, Madison and Jasmine, aged two and three, and their nephew Travis Bragg, nine, were recovered yesterday.
All five bodies have now been taken to Newcastle morgue for formal identification.
Further north, Robert and Linda Jones were killed when their vehicle was washed off a flooded bridge at Clarence Town, while a 29-year-old Heddon Greta man died when a tree fell on his ute at Brunkerville, Lake Macquarie, about 6pm (AEST) yesterday.
Financial assistance
Prime Minister John Howard today offered additional financial support, and his condolences, to people affected by the storms.
"I know I speak for every Australian in saying that the country is thinking of you and we're heart broken by the loss of lives and the tragic circumstances in which a number of people have lost their lives ... (it's) the, tragically, human side of something such as this,'' he said.
"It is an immense disaster.''
While the torrential downpours and gale-force winds of Friday had eased by today, the focus turned to the dangers posed by floodwaters, with the Hunter Valley centres of Maitland and Singleton preparing for the worst.
Evacuation ordered
The State Emergency Service (SES) this afternoon issued an evacuation order for residents of central Maitland, South Maitland and Lorne following revised predictions that flood waters would peak at 5cm above the levee by 9pm today.
Residents are being advised to be out of their homes by 8pm, SES spokesman Philip Campbell said.
"The revised flood peak of 11.4 metres is expected by 9pm and that will cause the levee to over-top,'' Mr Campbell said.
About 5,000 people have been advised to evacuate in the Maitland and Singleton areas since yesterday.
Lower Hunter Local Area Commander, Superintendent Desmond Organ, said police were advising residents not to delay leaving the area, adding that security would be provided for vacant properties.
Evacuation centres have been set up to provide welfare assistance, first-aid, food and transport.
Sandbagging underway
Sandbagging operations were underway at Branxton to protect homes near the river ahead of its expected peak at 6pm today, while the New England Highway to Branxton and Anvil Creek Bridge were cut to all traffic bar emergency service vehicles.
Meanwhile, Premier Morris Iemma said the damage in Newcastle was worse than that caused by the city's 1989 earthquake.
"Construction sites and scaffolding, debris on roads, abandoned cars, homes that were damaged, trees having fallen on homes, extensive damage. It was quite disbelieving,'' he told the Seven Network.
The water also was causing havoc for utilities, with sewage flowing untreated into the ocean from plants across Sydney and the Hunter Valley.
Power cuts
More than 100,000 homes of the Lower Hunter and Central Coast are still blacked out, along with 5,000 Sydney residences, and power may not be fully restored until later this week.
Public transport is returning to normal across Sydney but storm-ravaged Newcastle and the Central Coast are still experiencing disruptions.
Householders affected by the wild storms and floodwaters have been urged to contact their insurance companies to speed up property damage claims.
Nine dead as thousands forced to evacuate
Source: AAP
June 10, 2007, 4:00 pm
THOUSANDS of residents in the NSW Hunter region have been urged to abandon their homes ahead of a torrent of floodwater expected to hit the region tonight.
The death toll from the three days of wild storms reached nine today as police found the body of 45-year-old Adamstown man, Wayne Bull, who was swept into a stormwater drain in the Newcastle suburb of Lambton after getting out of his car on Griffith Road on Friday night.
At the peak of Friday's wild weather, five members of the same family were swept to their deaths when a section of the Old Pacific Highway collapsed under their vehicle and it was hit by a "wall of water'' at Somersby, near Gosford.
The bodies of 30-year-old Adam Holt and his long-term partner Roslyn Bragg, 29, were recovered from Piles Creek today, while the bodies of their two daughters, Madison and Jasmine, aged two and three, and their nephew Travis Bragg, nine, were recovered yesterday.
All five bodies have now been taken to Newcastle morgue for formal identification.
Further north, Robert and Linda Jones were killed when their vehicle was washed off a flooded bridge at Clarence Town, while a 29-year-old Heddon Greta man died when a tree fell on his ute at Brunkerville, Lake Macquarie, about 6pm (AEST) yesterday.
Financial assistance
Prime Minister John Howard today offered additional financial support, and his condolences, to people affected by the storms.
"I know I speak for every Australian in saying that the country is thinking of you and we're heart broken by the loss of lives and the tragic circumstances in which a number of people have lost their lives ... (it's) the, tragically, human side of something such as this,'' he said.
"It is an immense disaster.''
While the torrential downpours and gale-force winds of Friday had eased by today, the focus turned to the dangers posed by floodwaters, with the Hunter Valley centres of Maitland and Singleton preparing for the worst.
Evacuation ordered
The State Emergency Service (SES) this afternoon issued an evacuation order for residents of central Maitland, South Maitland and Lorne following revised predictions that flood waters would peak at 5cm above the levee by 9pm today.
Residents are being advised to be out of their homes by 8pm, SES spokesman Philip Campbell said.
"The revised flood peak of 11.4 metres is expected by 9pm and that will cause the levee to over-top,'' Mr Campbell said.
About 5,000 people have been advised to evacuate in the Maitland and Singleton areas since yesterday.
Lower Hunter Local Area Commander, Superintendent Desmond Organ, said police were advising residents not to delay leaving the area, adding that security would be provided for vacant properties.
Evacuation centres have been set up to provide welfare assistance, first-aid, food and transport.
Sandbagging underway
Sandbagging operations were underway at Branxton to protect homes near the river ahead of its expected peak at 6pm today, while the New England Highway to Branxton and Anvil Creek Bridge were cut to all traffic bar emergency service vehicles.
Meanwhile, Premier Morris Iemma said the damage in Newcastle was worse than that caused by the city's 1989 earthquake.
"Construction sites and scaffolding, debris on roads, abandoned cars, homes that were damaged, trees having fallen on homes, extensive damage. It was quite disbelieving,'' he told the Seven Network.
The water also was causing havoc for utilities, with sewage flowing untreated into the ocean from plants across Sydney and the Hunter Valley.
Power cuts
More than 100,000 homes of the Lower Hunter and Central Coast are still blacked out, along with 5,000 Sydney residences, and power may not be fully restored until later this week.
Public transport is returning to normal across Sydney but storm-ravaged Newcastle and the Central Coast are still experiencing disruptions.
Householders affected by the wild storms and floodwaters have been urged to contact their insurance companies to speed up property damage claims.
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