Thousands stranded by flooding in New South Wales by Jo Farrow
A low pressure system off the east coast of Australia has brought two days of heavy rain to parts of Queensland and New South Wales, enough to cause rivers to break their banks and flood surrounding areas.
217 miles north of Sydney, in and around the town of Bellingen in New South Wales, up to 3,000 residents have been stranded by rising floodwaters. After the Bellinger River burst its banks, water levels were peaking around 7.5m (25ft) on Friday afternoon, but the level was still below that which could flood properties. Emergency services were closely monitoring the situation, with more rain forecast for the weekend.
In southeast Queensland the weather has affected transport services. Travel by sea, air, rail and road has been disrupted by strong winds, which have also brought down trees and power lines. Pounding waves are thought to have caused a landslip on the Gold Coast. However the rain that has fallen has not fallen in the right areas to ease the drought situation in the state. It has been falling close to the coast, rather than in the catchments of the Brisbane River.
The wet and windy weather in Queensland should ease over the weekend, but in the flooded parts of New South Wales moderate to heavy rain is forecast to continue until later on Sunday.
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