Disaster declared ahead of Ului

Qld: Disaster declared ahead of Ului

7:22 PM Saturday Mar 20, 2010

Queensland Premier Anna Bligh has declared a disaster zone across the state's central and northern coast ahead of the anticipated arrival of tropical cyclone Ului.

The cyclone is predicted to cross the coast between Ayr and Mackay as a category two or three system early on Sunday, bringing destructive wind gusts of up to 170km/h.

The Bureau of Meteorology has warned that up to 300mm of rain is possible in areas located in the path of the cyclone.

Ms Bligh announced disaster declarations for the Townsville, Burdekin, Whitsunday, Charters Towers, Mackay, Isaac, Rockhampton and Central Highlands local government areas.

"This declaration is in anticipation that some properties may need to be evacuated in the coming hours as Tropical Cyclone Ului approaches and then crosses the North Queensland coast," Ms Bligh said in a statement on Saturday.

"The declaration gives Emergency Services agencies the power of mandatory evacuations if required."

Residents in the likely path of the cyclone were on Saturday making final preparations for Ului's arrival.

Store owners in Airlie Beach and Bowen used masking tape to reinforce shopfront windows while locals flocked to supermarkets to buy last-minute supplies.

"It's a big concern, we don't want to lose our big top so we are cancelling our shows tomorrow and pulling down the big top," owner Jay Lennon said.In Townsville staff at the Lennon Bros Circus were preparing to pull down their big top tent after Saturday night's show to avoid damage.

Mr Lennon said staff would position the trucks and trailers to shield the circus animals from the wind gusts.

"We'll take every precaution with the animals and our staff as well."

- AAP

http://www.nzherald.co.nz/world/news/article.cfm?c_id=2&objectid=10633242

Disaster declared in flood-hit Australia

AFP/File – A woman with a child in a pusher is seen struggling in rain and wind as she walks through Sydney centre, …

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• Play VideoWeather Forecast Video:Storm Outlook for Saturday AccuWeather
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Sat Nov 7, 12:04 am ET

SYDNEY (AFP) – Australian authorities declared a natural disasteralong parts of the country's east coast as heavy floods cut the main road linking major cities, stranding thousands of people.

Torrential rain soaked the Coffs Harbour region north of Sydneyovernight, swamping the arterial Pacific Highway with flash floodwaters that isolated almost 5,000 people, emergency officials said on Saturday.

About 40 people had to be evacuated from the area hit by the raging floods and New South Wales emergency services minister Steve Whandeclared a natural disaster, releasing state funds.

More than 500 millimetres (20 inches) of rain had fallen in the past two days, Whan said, in the fifth major flooding incident to hit the region this year.

"I guess one of the things we've seen predicted from climate changeconsistently is that the rain and the weather events will come in more storms and more short-term deluges," he said.

"Unfortunately that's the pattern that we seem to be seeing this year in the area."

Floodwaters were expected to peak at five metres (yards) at Coffs Harbour on Saturday afternoon before easing, the State Emergency Service said, describing as "drastic" the cumulative effect of recent downpours.

"Weather conditions have eased considerably over the last few hours. However, we still have some 4,800 people isolated by floodwaters in a number of north-coast communities," said SES spokesman Phil Campbell.

Intense storms hit the east coast late last month, generating more than 10,000 lightning strikes and disrupting train and flight services.

Tens of thousands of homes and businesses were blacked out and a man was killed when his car hit a tree intorrential rains.

http://news.yahoo.com/s/afp/20091107/wl_afp/australiaweatherrain;_ylt=AtiknJg4YFYhXqwWTwqLhoJvaA8F;_ylu=X3oDMTJyZXJnNTJuBGFzc2V0A2FmcC8yMDA5MTEwNy9hdXN0cmFsaWF3ZWF0aGVycmFpbgRwb3MDMjYEc2VjA3luX2FydGljbGVfc3VtbWFyeV9saXN0BHNsawNkaXNhc3RlcmRlY2w-

Disaster declaration issued for American Samoa

• Barack Obama
  

1 hr 23 mins ago

WASHINGTON – The White House has declared a major disaster inAmerican Samoa following a deadly tsunami.

Early reports say towering waves spawned by an earthquake have flattened villages and killed several people in American Samoa. The U.S. territory in the South Pacific, part of a chain of islands, is home to 65,000 people.

The disaster declaration Tuesday night by President Barack Obamaprovides federal aid to supplement local recovery efforts.

Federal assistance can include grants for temporary housing and home repairs, low-cost loans to cover uninsured property losses, and other programs to help individuals and business owners recover from the effects of the disaster.

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20090930/ap_on_go_pr_wh/us_american_samoa_disaster_declaration_1