19 dead or missing in Australian flood 'tsunami'

BRISBANE: Giant flash floods which smashed through an Australian town like an "inland tsunami" left at least eight people dead and 11 missing on Tuesday as the country's widespread flood crisis suddenly escalated.

Queensland state premier Anna Bligh said the death toll was expected to rise after fast-running torrents of water devastated the rural town of Toowoomba and other areas, sweeping away cars and leaving survivors clinging to trees.

"These are shocking and heartbreaking circumstances involving young families and young children in a very rapidly unfolding situation," she said.

TV images showed streets turned into churning rapids dotted with floating cars, some with people sitting on top, while elsewhere residents were forced on top of buildings as water-levels reached their roofs.

A woman and a boy were found dead in Toowoomba city centre, which lies 125 kilometres west of the state capital, Brisbane, while a man and a boy were killed at nearby Murphys Creek, officials said,

Federal MP Ian MacFarlane said he had heard reports that "there could be up to 30 people unaccounted for" following the dramatic deluge, which hit late on Monday and subsided within three hours.

"We're just seeing building after building, the water rushing in and blowing the windows out," he told Sky News. "Cars that were parked in the carparks were just lifted up and went bobbing down the street."

"I've lived in Toowoomba for 20 years and I've never seen anything like that. This is flooding without precedent in Toowoomba," MacFarlane added.

The flash floods were caused by torrential rains falling on Australia's flood-stricken northeast, where overflowing rivers have afflicted a huge area the size of France and Germany combined at huge economic cost.

Helicopter rescue teams sent to search for the missing in the Lockyer Valley region were hampered by further heavy rains Tuesday.

source:The Times of India.

Toll rises to 350 in Pakistan floods

The death toll due to continued monsoon rains in Pakistan rose to 350 on Friday, government officials claimed, as tens of thousands of people are still trapped in flooding waters that submerged dozens of villages across Pakistan.

The ongoing monsoon rains brought misery to people in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, Baluchistan and parts of Punjab and caused widespread population displacement. The ill-equipped rescue workers were struggling to reach people in far-flung areas.

Worst hit was the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province where flash floods and torrential rains killed nearly 300 people. Television footage showed images of people clinging to woods, trees and fences while many more took shelter on rooftops of buildings amid pools of flooded waters.

The province's information minister, Mian Iftikhar Hussain, said it was the worst flooding in the region since 1928. Hussain urged the government to provide them 200 boats to deal with the crisis. He said that two construction camps of Chinese engineers had been washed away in flash floods in Kohistan region. "Forty-six Chinese engineers have been rescued, but nine are still missing. Two hundred Chinese nationals, who were working on a power project, are also stranded in the Dobair valley of Kohistan district," he said.

Hussain estimated 400,000 people were stranded in various northwest villages. According to UN estimate, more than 5000 homes were washed away in only Charsadda district, 30 kilometers north of Peshawar.

Until late Thursday, large areas of the province remained disconnected from the country. The highway connecting Peshawar to Islamabad was shut down after the water washed away bridges and other links.

"At least 291 people died in various parts of that province over the last three days," said Noman Khan, an official of the disaster management authority. The tolls from the torrential rains were expected to rise because many people were still missing. Continued poor weather also may have been a factor in Wednesday's plane crash that left 152 people dead in Islamabad.

Baluchistan province has also been hit hard by the recent rains. Last week, flash floods in the region killed at least 51 people and swept away thousands of homes. The UN statement Thursday said 150,000 people became homeless there.

On Thursday evening, emergency was declared in the garrison city of Rawalpindi after rain water touched a deadly level. Dozens of villages were inundated in Rajanpur, Rojhan and Tonsa areas of Punjab.

floods snatch 111 lives in China

BEIJING: At least 111 people have been killed and 167 missing since past 11 days due to floods that hit northwest China's Shaanxi province, authorities said.

The first floods, from the rain-swollen Hanjiang River and its tributaries, hit Shaanxi's Ankang, Hanzhong, and Shangluo cities from July 14 to 19. Another flood that began Thursday worsened the catastrophe, Xinhua reported Monday.

The floods have affected about 4.25 million people and forced 703,000 people to be evacuated. In the worst-hit Ankang City, 63 people were killed, 119 missing and 2,824 injured, according to a statement from the provincial government.

The floods also caused an estimated loss of 9.56 billion yuan.