(January 17, 2011 at 7:22 pm)Minimalist Wrote: I hope you are far enough from the floods, Pad.
Swimming at our age should be a leisurely activity not a life-saving one!
Yes,thanks Min. The nearest floods are a Horsham,Victoria, a few hundred miles south east. I'm about ten miles south of the city,well away from its river and on high ground. If I ever DO get flooded,my house will slide right down the hill.
My girlfriend is currently living in Townsville, Queensland, and well north of the floods. However, she is experiencing food shortages:Queensland produces a quarter of the country's fresh produce.Those crops are under water,and rail lines and most roads are cut. Very little is getting in or out except by air. (the major airports are still open)
These floods are probably the the worst natural disaster in Australia's history.The death toll will probably exceed 40. In excess of 20 thousand people are homeless. Loss of infrastructure is estimated at over $10 billion. Same amount in the mining industry,currently operating at about 60%. Agriculture in the hundred of millions. Tourism,up to a billion.
Australia has population of 21 million
HERE local fresh food prices are just starting to rise. I have enough food for a month.
