Floods pile misery on Australia

FLOODS have prompted authorities to evacuate towns north of Sydney today, while bush fires still blazed in Australia's drought-parched south.

Heavy rain has isolated the towns of Bellingen, Darkwood and Upper Thora near Sydney. The Bellinger River overflowed today and was expected to flood homes of the 3,000 people who live near its banks. Emergency services prepared to deploy helicopters.

To the north, most of Queensland has been flooded for weeks, with more rain expected during the monsoon season. Firefighters in Victoria, south of New South Wales, have had little rain to help them douse wildfires that flared up on 7 February and have ravaged the landscape.

Police said the death toll from the dozens of bush fires in Victoria had reached 200, and warned that it would certainly rise further.