Weather brings floods to drought-ravaged eastern Australia

[senorpepr]

SYDNEY (AFP) - Thousands of people had to be evacuated from parts of Australia's eastern states of New South Wales and Queensland at the weekend after days of torrential rain turned drought into floods, officials said.

In the New South Wales town of Tamworth, where an annual country music festival was under way, 3,000 people camping on the banks of the Peel River and 400 residents had to be evacuated after the river burst its banks, cutting the town in half late on Saturday.

The New South Wales state government on Sunday declared Tamworth and two neighbouring districts natural disaster zones, giving local residents and communities some government assistance because of damage caused by flash flooding.

In neighbouring Queensland the State Emergency Services (SES) said rivers were close to bursting their banks, roads were badly damaged and rescue helicopters had been making food drops to properties isolated by flooding.

ueensland state government estimates put the damage to roads at 20 million dollars (15.5 million US) and this was tipped to rise.

But a spokesman for Queensland Primary Industries Minister, Henry Palaszczuk, said despite the flooding, 66 percent of the state remained in drought and it was too early to say the drought over for many communities.

"It's not unusual for shires to be drought-declared and be under natural disaster relief arrangements for flood as well," the spokesman said.

"Last year even when there was extreme flooding in a number of areas, no shires were lifted then. Indeed, we actually added shires after that."

However, one SES official said the rain had brought smiles to the faces of people who have spent the last three years living in a dustbowl.

Although the long-term forecast was for even hotter weather with more drought and bushfires, the quirky weather was the answer to many prayers.

"Even though some people are finding it a little bit hard because the roads are a bit muddy and cut off, what it means is that dams are filling, weirs are filling, grasses are green, stock's got something to feed off, so basically, this is a good thing for the community," said SES district manager Peter McNamee at Longreach in central Queensland.