Australia: Back-to-Back Disasters Hit Vic

Victoria’s flood crisis to continue for days

Forty-three towns and nearly a third of Victoria have been inundated

At least 1400 properties across the Australian state of Victoria have been inundated, as 3,500 people are  forced to flee their homes.

Source: Image from Japan Meteorological Agency satellite MTSAT-1R via Bureau of Meteorology.  Click image to enlarge.

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Some 43 towns  have been affected by the floods,  said to be the worst flooding to hit northern and northwestern Victoria since records began 130 years ago.

A map of flooded areas in the state of Victoria. Source. Image may be subject to copyright.

The towns of Echuca, Horsham  and Kerang were expected to be hit by massive flooding as rivers in the ares peak overnight,  reports say.

”The message to Victorians is that we are not out of the woods yet as far as this flood crisis is concerned,” the State Emergency Service spokesman said. ”In some of our river systems we are seeing unprecedented stream rises.”

‘We anticipate parts of the central business district and areas to the west of the Campaspe river in Echuca to be impacted,” he said.

“Rochester, on the Campaspe, which reached a record height of 9.5m, far in excess of the previous record set in 1956, and Charlton on the Avoca, which peaked at 8.05m on Saturday, are among the towns worst hit so far,” a report said.

About 80 per cent of both towns have been inundated.

Weather and Warnings

• Tropical Cyclone,
• New South Wales / Australian Capital Territory,
• Victoria,
• Queensland,
• Western Australia,
• South Australia,
• Tasmania,
• Northern Territory.

Related Links:

• Flood crisis spreads to 5 Australian states
• Global Floods Update – Australia
• Back-to-Back Australian Disasters[Links page]

• Earth’s Human Induced Antiphase Nears Completion
• The First Wave of World’s Collapsing Cities
• The Fate of Energy Dinosaurs

Global Floods Update – Brazil

600+ Lives Claimed by Brazil Floods

Entire villages are washed away in Brazil’s worst floods in 50 years, as rivers of mud cut off towns

The towns of Nova Friburgo,  Petropolis, Teresopolis and the municipality of Sumidouro in southeastern Brazil are turned into disaster zones as local morgues are filled to capacity with corpses of victims claimed by the floods and mudslides, reports say.

A church is destroyed by a landslide in Teresopolis, Rio de Janeiro state, as the “Pope prays for the victims,” January 14, 2011. Image credit: Reuters/Bruno Domingos. Image may be subject to copyright. More images…

The worst hit area is Nova Friburgo, with at least 274 people killed. Teresopolis located WSW, has reported a death toll of at least 263, and 55 people have been killed the nearby city of Petropolis. Floods have also claimed 18 lives in the small Rio de Janeiro municipality of Sumidouro, the authorities said.

An aerial view of a landslides near in Teresopolis, Rio de Janeiro state, Brazil. Image credit: AP. Image may be subject to copyright.

Nova Friburgo (population: 180,000; Elevation: 846m) located in the mountains northeast of Rio de Janeiro has plunged into darkness, and the mayor of Teresopolis (Population: 150,000; Elevation: 871m) has declared a state of emergency in the city.

“The torrent of earth and water swept like a tsunami through mostly poor communities, smashing houses and killing whole families as they slept. Some corpses in Teresopolis were found several miles away from their houses.” Said a report.

More than 15,000 people have already been left homeless by the floods that are said to be Brazil’s worst in nearly half a century.

The torrential rain that began on Monday was forecast to continue for at least another week, increasing the scale of the disaster in the region.

Dozens, possibly hundreds of people are missing, as washed-out roads hamper rescue operations.

“Rescue workers fear the number of dead will continue to rise as they reach areas which have been without communication since the rains started at the beginning of the week,” a report said.

Related Links:

• 2010: The Year of Disasters

• Global Climate Extremes INTENSIFYING
• Global Floods Update – Australia
• Back-to-Back Australian Disasters[Links page]

• Earth’s Human Induced Antiphase Nears Completion
• The First Wave of World’s Collapsing Cities
• The Fate of Energy Dinosaurs

Disaster Forecasts and Calendars

Mega Disasters:

• Earth: Wounded and Feverish

• 2011 Disaster Calendar
• FEWW DISASTER FORECAST 2011
• 2011 Much More Disastrous
• 2011 SIX TIMES MORE DISASTROUS THAN 2010
• Megadisasters Loom

• 2010 Disasters
• The First Wave of World’s Collapsing Cities
• 2010 Disaster Calendar