First extreme heat, now extreme flooding in Australia
BRISBANE, Australia (AFP) - Helicopters plucked dozens of stranded Australians to safety in dramatic rooftop rescues Monday as severe floods swept the northeast, killing four people and inundating thousands of homes.
The body of one man carried off by rising waters was found in the Queensland state capital Brisbane and another further north at Gympie, following the earlier discovery of an elderly man who died near the city of Bundaberg.
A pregnant woman and her three-year-old son were hospitalised with head injuries after a large tree fell on them as they were walking in Brisbane. The boy later died in hospital, Australian Associated Press reported late Monday.
Queensland Premier Campbell Newman announced that an acute emergency was unfolding in Bundaberg, home to about 50,000 people some 360 kilometres (220 miles) north of Brisbane, with people scrambling to get out as the river hit a record peak. ...........................(more)
The complete piece is at: http://au.news.yahoo.com/thewest/a/-/world/15962939/major-floods-hammer-northern-australia/
