dizzygizzy 
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(3/3/06 1:17 pm)
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Flooding cuts off thousands in Australia
Flooding Cuts Off Thousands in Australia
1 hour, 2 minutes ago
SYDNEY, Australia - Rising floodwaters in eastern Australia have stranded up to 3,000 people, an emergency official said Friday. No deaths or injuries were reported.
Heavy rains have caused several rivers in northeastern New South Wales state to flood their banks, stranding residents in and around the tourist town of Bellingen, about 220 miles north of Sydney, said Phil Campbell, a spokesman for the New South Wales State Emergency Service.
The main area of concern is Bellingen, on the Bellinger River," Campbell said. "They are cut off, they are isolated."
Besides Bellingen's 2,500 residents, around 500 people in the rural Bellinger Valley also have been cut off by the floods. Campbell said he expected those people to remain isolated over the next two days.
The state emergency service has brought in volunteers to help with flood relief, Campbell said, and helicopters were on standby.
As the Bureau of Meteorology forecast more heavy rain in the area through Saturday, residents sandbagged riverfront houses and businesses against further flooding, the Australian Broadcasting Corp. reported.
Local emergency crews also were using boats to deliver medical and blood supplies to hospitals isolated by the waters, the ABC said.
In southern parts of Queensland state, about 300 miles to the north, high winds and rain knocked down power lines, cutting electricity to about 20,000 homes and forcing the main train line north of the state capital Brisbane to be shut down.
The stormy conditions and high winds also forced flights to Maroochydore on the Sunshine Coast to be diverted to Brisbane. Beaches were closed due to high seas, protective shark nets were pulled from their moorings off the coast and a world championship surfing competition on the Gold Coast south of Brisbane was called off.
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