Worst floods for almost 40 years hit Victoria, Australia by Steph Ball
Stormy weather has brought widespread flooding across the drought-parched southeast of Australia. The storm is the fourth to hit the eastern coast of Australia this month and has caused the worst flooding in Victoria in almost 40 years.
Several rivers burst their banks in the Gippsland region on Thursday evening. As floodwaters rose, residents were warned of a potential crisis with hundreds forced to abandon their homes. Floodwaters were forecast to hit levels as high as those seen during the great floods of 1990.
Heavy rains and gale force winds were forecast with the storm whipping up very rough seas along the eastern seaboard.
The Bureau of Meteorology said the frequency of this month's storms was the result of a series of intense low-pressure systems in the Indian Ocean which in turn caused intense high pressure systems south of Australia.
Australians will be hoping this may be the break in the ongoing drought which has been gripping the country. In fact the Bureau of Meteorology has reported June 2007 to be the wettest on record across the Australian “tropics”.
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