More homes threatened as river keeps rising
January 28th, 2008 Posted in Pets Guide More homes are expected to be inundated as flood waters peak in
the central western Queensland town of Emerald today.
Authorities project the town’s swollen Nogoa River will reach a
peak flow level of 15.5 metres about 2pm.
“At the anticipated peak level, water will flow over the Vince
Lester Bridge in Emerald,” a spokesperson for Emergency Management
Queensland (EMQ) said.
“The anticipated peak height does mean some inundation of houses
in Emerald, and there has already been some properties
affected.
“There are no exact numbers of affected properties as these
houses have already been vacated.”
The river level was just over 15 metres at 5am today, and
authorities say the water level is rising about three centimetres
per hour.
“The rate of the rise and rate of flow out of the (Fairbairn)
dam has slowed allowing some reassessment of the rate of relocation
of residents,” the EMQ statement said.
“This has also been scaled back.”
More than 2000 people have told emergency services they have
evacuated their homes.
Most are staying with relatives or friends on higher ground but
more than 60 people are living temporarily in the Emerald town
hall.
A further 60 people, along with their pets, are seeking shelter
at an agricultural college.
These include “18 dogs and one cat, one chicken and one budgie”,
EMQ said.
Queensland Fire and Rescue Service has eight boats in the town
to assist the State Emergency Service, and police, as the waters
rise.
AAP
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Tags: 2pm, dogs, flood waters, loc, Pet, pets, relatives, spokesperson
