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More Qld evacuations as floods rage on

29 December 2010 02:37 (UTC +04:00)

Baku-APA. More Queenslanders will be evacuated from their homes as the state battles the worst floods in 50 years, APA reports quoting news.smh.com.au website.

Black Hawk helicopters were sent in to parts of the state on Tuesday to evacuate more than 1000 people stranded by rising floodwaters.

The flood crisis has sparked mass evacuations and disaster declarations in parts of central and southern Queensland, including the communities of Theodore, Chinchilla and Dalby.
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The entire population of Theodore, inland from Bundaberg, is being evacuated after the worst flood in living memory swamped everything except the local police station.

Up to 200 people were due to be evacuated from Theodore by the end of Tuesday, with a further 90 people to be moved to the nearby town of Moura on Wednesday, Banana Shire Council Mayor Maureen Clancy told AAP.

"We’ll be starting early to get people out of the town," she said.

By 11.30pm (AEST) the Dawson River was at 14.5 metres, down slightly from earlier in the day, but it was expected to start rising again on Wednesday.

At Bundaberg, residents have been put on evacuation alert, with up to 200 homes expected to be affected by flooding on Wednesday.

The Burnett river is expected to peak at 7.5 metres on Wednesday, exceeding levels last reached in 1956, acting chair of the local disaster management committee Dave Batt said.

In Dalby and Chinchilla, in the Western Downs Regional Council area west of Brisbane, the situation remains serious.

The swollen Myall Creek has split Dalby in two, with more than 100 homes inundated and residents taking refuge in evacuation centres.

At Chinchilla, Charleys Creek has reached levels not seen for almost 70 years with about 50 homes and businesses inundated and residents also holed up at an evacuation centre.

Forecasters say the rain is easing, but the situation is likely to get worse before it gets better as swollen rivers purge the deluge that’s hit the central and southern regions.