Nine people confirmed dead in Australia
Sunday, 10 June 2007 23:19
Nine people have been confirmed dead in Australia as storms and flooding continue to affect Sydney, the Central Coast and Newcastle.
Rescue workers last night urged thousands of people to evacuate their homes after the storms lashed Australia's east coast.
Officials said Newcastle looked as if it had been hit by an earthquake.
Emergency workers evacuated 400 people from their homes along the Central Coast overnight, including by boat and helicopter, and were urging some 5,000 residents in Maitland and Singleton, to the north, to seek shelter away from rising floodwaters.
Accompanied by gale force winds, the storms have driven a massive freighter aground in Newcastle, forced the suspension of ferry services on Sydney Harbour and blacked out tens of thousands of homes.
Prime Minister John Howard said those affected by storms and flooding would be entitled to cash payments in addition to natural disaster funding offered by the state government.
