Australia flooding has affected Thousands

Relentless flooding in northeast Australia has caused two towns to evacuate as water flooded their communities, cutting off roads and devastating crops. “This is without a doubt a tragedy on an unprecedented scale,” Premier Anna Bligh told Australian Broadcasting Corporation “We now have 22 towns or cities that are either substantially flooded or isolated because the roads have been cut off to them. That represents some 200,000 people spanning an area that’s bigger than the size of France and Germany combined.” Thousands of businesses and homes across Queensland state have been flooded  with water after days of prouring  rain caused swollen rivers to overflow. Heavy rains and flooding in northeast Australia is common during the southern hemisphere summer, but the scope of the damage from the recent downpours is extremely unusual, Queensland state Premier Anna Bligh said. In the central Queensland town of Emerald, around 1,000 people were evacuated in the last 24 hours adding to the thousands that has already evacuated from their homes this week.The town was facing the of food shortages, power outages and sewage contaminated flood waters, county mayor Peter Maguire said. Three evacuation centers have been set up to help displaced residents. Bligh warned that drenched communities could be stuck under water for more than a week and clean up efforts were expected to cost billions of dollars.Queensland launched a disaster relief fund for flood victims with 1 million Australian dollars ($1 million) in state money. Prime Minister Julia Gillard pledged to match that amount with federal funds.