Australian visit flood zone

Metanews: Prime Minister of Australia Julia Gillard tours flood ravaged areas in Queensland. PRIME Minister Julia Gillard touched down briefly in Gladstone and caught a Black Hawk Helicopter to Rockhampton for a tour of flood-ravaged Central Queensland on Saturday. The Black Hawk helicopter, operating from Rockhampton as part of Operation Queensland Flood Assist, transported the Prime Minister and Colonel Luke Foster, Commander of the Joint Task Force, from Gladstone to Rockhampton. During the flight, Ms Gillard viewed flood-affected areas of Rockhampton from the Black Hawk Helicopter and saw first-hand the Fitzroy River in flood at 9.15 metres after it peaked at 9.2 metres earlier this week. The river is now expected to remain above the major flood level of 8.5 metres until Friday, prolonging the closure of the Bruce Highway and the Rockhampton Airport. The Prime Minister also visited St George in the state's south-west on Saturday morning. The rural town's Balonne River peak was revised downwards to 13.4 metres, a relief to residents of flood-hit St George. The clean-up continues at Theodore, where residents returned to their homes yesterday to begin the massive clean-up. Police controlled access to the township and residents were allowed access during the hours of 8.30am to 4pm. Only police and army personnel were permitted to stay in Theodore overnight. Banana Shire Mayor John Hooper asked that only Theodore residents and people associated with the recovery enter the township of Theodore. "This will be a very busy period and I would ask that the people of Theodore and the recovery teams are not hindered by unnecessary people visiting the town," Cr Hooper said. Premier Anna Bligh visited Theodore yesterday and reportedly spent a lot of time talking to the residents who had been affected by the flooding.

2011-01-11T17:01:29+00:00
Duration: 01:05