Tens of thousands told to flee as floods swamp Australian town | Reuters

SYDNEY Floodwaters filled the streets of a major Australian town of more than 25,000 people on Friday, as a storm system generated by the powerful cyclone that pummeled the nation's northeast three days ago swept down the coast with heavy rain. Cyclone Debbie hit as a Category Four storm in the north of tropical Queensland state on Tuesday, smashing tourist resorts, bringing down power lines, flattening canefields and shutting down coal mines.Authorities on Friday told almost 20,000 people to evacuate to higher ground as driving rain in hinterland and coastal areas either side of the Queensland state capital, Brisbane, swelled rivers to record heights across the region."We have everything happening, we've got people on rooftops, we've had people stuck in vans, it's a disaster, an utter disaster," New South Wales State Emergency Services Controller Ian Leckie told Australian Broadcasting Corporation radio

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| Reuters appeared first on Firstpost.