Tag Archives: Queensland

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Massive Cyclone Yasi Makes Landfall in Australia

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The east coast of Australia is currently being pummeled by what is reportedly the largest windstorm to hit since Europeans settled the continent. With peak winds of 186 mph and storm surge of some 23 feet, this cyclone, which at one point spanned 400 miles, has the potential to devastate a region already reeling from recent floods that killed more than 30 people, caused insured losses of at least $1.5 billion and “covered an area the size of France and Germany combined,” according to the UK paper The Telegraph.

The AP video below shows some of the damage the storm has caused. It is now down to category 3 storm and should continue to dissipate as it moves inland, but it will still be many hours until the full brunt of disaster will be known.

In this other video from the BBC, we hear one 83-year-old local say “I’ve never been in anything like this in my life.”

More encouraging is the evacuation warning given by Queensland Premier Anna Bligh.

“Do not bother to pack bags. Just grab each other and get to a place of safety. Remember that people are irreplaceable.”

Let’s keep hoping for the best.

(video via The Huffington Post)

Australian Insurers Brace for Worst

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Close to 348,000 square miles across 20 towns are flooded and 200,000 residents affected after heavy rains drenched Queensland and neighboring states from December 25 to January 3.

The effects of the flooding are far-reaching. Reports indicate Queensland-based insurer SunCorp has told the Australian Stock Exchange it has received 1,800 claims so far. A JP Morgan analyst has said that losses to the insurance industry due to the flooding are estimated at $1 billion. The Insurance Council of Australia (ICA), however, has said that it is too early to provide a loss estimate.

The worst flooding in decades has affected an area the size of Germany and France, leaving towns virtual islands in a muddy inland sea, devastated crops, cut major rail and road links to coal ports, slashed exports and forced up world coal prices.

Coal production in Queensland has been severely disrupted. “The Queensland Resources Council said lost coal and gas production would run to hundreds of million of dollars.” Economists have projected a $6 billion loss from reduced export volumes.

Key crops such as cotton, sunflower, sugar and wheat have been gravely affected by the floods and, according to the Queensland Farmers Federation, few farmers have flood insurance. Crop losses alone could exceed $1 billion.

Below is a video of the “biblical” Australian floods that have claimed the lives of 10.

Needless to say, the property damage in Queensland and neighboring states will be a hard hit to the country’s insurers.