Australia Floods Turn Deadly: 'A Disaster Of Biblical Proportions' (PHOTOS)

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Australia Floods Turn Deadly: 'A Disaster Of Biblical Proportions' (PHOTOS)

BRISBANE, Australia (AP) — A woman drowned after trying to cross a flooded causeway in Australia, becoming the first victim of relentless flooding that one official has described as reaching "biblical proportions," police said Sunday.

Days of pounding rain last week left much of northeastern Australia swamped by a sea of muddy water, with flooding affecting about 200,000 people in an area larger than France and Germany combined. The rain has stopped, but rivers are still rising and overflowing into low-lying communities as the water moves toward the ocean.

On Saturday night, two cars trying to cross a flooded causeway were swept into a river in Burketown, in western Queensland state, police said. A 41-year-old woman traveling in the second car disappeared in the rushing water, and her body was recovered Sunday about 1.2 miles (2 kilometers) away, Queensland police said.

"We're just grateful there weren't more casualties," Queensland's Acting Assistant Police Commissioner Alistair Dawson said. "We're focused on preventing any more."

About 1,000 people were living in evacuation centers across the state, and it may be a month before floodwaters dry up, Dawson said.

"It's hard to make the call that the worst is behind us," he said. "It's a unique event – parts of the state are still in response mode while others are in recovery. I think we're in the middle of the event."

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2011/01/02/australia-floods-biblical_n_803310.html#s218241

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