Thousands evacuate NSW towns as floods continue in Australia

Vast areas of Australia's east and southeast are facing devastating flooding after weeks of heavy rain. In NSW alone – Australia's most populous state – an area the size of France is either under water or at risk of going under, after 16 river systems have flooded. Southeast Queensland and northern Victoria also face serious threats of flooding. "This is devastating for small businesses, for farmers and for those whose houses have been flooded," said NSW state premier, Barry O'Farrell, who toured the state's affected region. Attention has focused on the NSW town of Wagga Wagga, 475kms south west of Sydney, as it faces its biggest flood in 150 years. Around 9,000 residents have been evacuated from the city centre amid fears the town's levee banks may not withstand the flood coming down the Murrumbidgee river. It brings to 13,000 the number of people evacuated from their homes across the state. The levee surrounding Wagga Wagga is 11m high and the river is expected to peak at 10.9m later on Tuesday. It's NSW's biggest inland city with 50,000 residents and it is an important agricultural, military and transport hub. Residents have been filling sandbags to protect their properties and businesses. Two hundred and fifty homes on the north of the city have already been inundated. "This is a very significant flood emergency and will continue to be a significant flood emergency down stream in the coming weeks," said James McTavish of the State Emergency Services. Authorities have pleaded with residents to heed evacuation requests and to stay away from floodwaters. The president of the NSW Farmers Association, Fiona Simson said the floods will have a massive impact on rural communities. "Not least because we know the government hasn't got a lot of money," she told the Sydney Morning Herald. The state government says it expects the bill for repairing roads alone will come to at least $500million. Rising floodwaters in southeast Queensland are also threatening properties. More than 200mm of rain fell in 24 hours in some areas this week. An 82-year-old man died in the town of Gympie, about 175km (106m) north of Brisbane on Monday after his car was caught in rising floodwaters. The deluge in southeast Queensland follows earlier flood emergencies in the state's inland areas, including the state's biggest emergency evacuation in the town of St George in February. The huge amount of rainfall is being attributed to the La Nina phenomenon where the sea surface temperature across the equatorial Eastern Central Pacific Ocean falls lower than normal by three to five degrees celsius. It has meant NSW has had the ninth wettest and fourth coldest summer on record.