Residents in the town of Beaufort, west of Melbourne are inundated by a flash flood which cut the town off from the main highway, Victoria. Photo: EPA

By Bonnie Malkin, Sydney
24 Jan 2011 Australia is facing more flood chaos as a ‘floodwater lake’ the size of Luxembourg is bearing down on scores of towns in the southern Australian state of Victoria, threatening tens of thousands of homes. Over the past two weeks, swollen rivers following torrential rains have merged to create a flood zone measuring 55 miles long and 24 miles wide. More than 70 communities and 4400 people have already been affected by widespread flooding across the state and many more are expected to be swamped as the mass of water moves downstream towards the sea. As the flood advanced through the countryside on Monday, the residents of Swan Hill, which lies directly in its path, were rushing to protect their homes before the Loddon River peaks at 16ft on Thursday. … Tim Wiebusch from the State Emergency Service (SES) said the flood threat in Victoria was likely to continue for weeks. “It really is like an inland sea heading towards these smaller communities, filling up lakes that haven’t been filled for quite some time and then slowly progressing towards Swan Hill.” …

Australia floods: floodwaters the size of Luxembourg bearing down on Australian towns