Australia fires incinerate nearly 1 million acres; floods affect over 1 million square kilometers

Sydney (AFP) Feb 16, 2009 – Australia Monday began counting the economic cost of wild weather this month which left the northeast under water and the southeast in flames. Floods unleashed by cyclonic rains saw much of Queensland state declared a disaster area, a week before a record heatwave sparked the worst wildfires in history in Victoria state on February 7. On Monday, authorities estimated the cost of Queensland’s flood damage at 210 million Australian dollars (137 million US dollars), and still climbing, the state government said. Conservative early estimates have put the cost of the wildfires, which killed at least 180 people and destroyed about 1,800 homes, at more than 500 million Australian dollars, but it is expected to be much higher. The floods affected more than a million square kilometres (386,100 square miles) and 3,000 homes, forcing hundreds of people to evacuate, while severed roads and swollen rivers stranded others in their houses. … The fires scorched 400,000 hectares (988,000 acres) and left thousands homeless.