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A series of floods hit Queensland, Australia, beginning in December 2010. The floods forced the evacuation of thousands of people from towns and cities.〔 At least 90 towns and over 200,000 people were affected.〔 Damage initially was estimated at around A$1 billion〔 before it was raised to $2.38 billion. The estimated reduction in Australia's GDP is about A$40 billion.〔 Three-quarters of the council areas within the state of Queensland were declared disaster zones.〔 as per the Australian curriculum, many students must research this topic for reports. Communities along the Fitzroy and Burnett Rivers were particularly hard hit, while the Condamine, Ballone and Mary Rivers recorded substantial flooding. An unexpected flash flood caused by a thunderstorm raced through Toowoomba's central business district. Water from the same storm devastated communities in the Lockyer Valley. A few days later thousands of houses in Ipswich and Brisbane were inundated as the Brisbane River rose and Wivenhoe Dam used a considerable proportion of its flood mitigation capacity. Volunteers were quick to offer assistance and sympathy was expressed from afar. A large mobilisation of the Australian Defence Force was activated and a relief fund created. The head of the recovery taskforce was Major General Michael Slater. The Queensland Reconstruction Authority was formed to co-ordinate the rebuilding program beyond the initial taskforce and a Commission of Inquiry established to investigate all matters related to the floods. The 2010–11 floods killed 38 people in Queensland. As of 26 January, an additional nine people were missing. The state's coal industry was particularly hard hit. The Queensland floods were followed by the 2011 Victorian floods which saw more than fifty communities in western and central Victoria also grapple with significant flooding. ==Background== Brisbane experienced major flooding in 1893 and 1974 as the Brisbane River broke its bank and inundated low lying areas. Towns including St George and Theodore had dealt with major flooding earlier in 1996. The floods were a result of heavy rainfall caused by Tropical Cyclone Tasha that combined with a trough during the peak of a La Niña Modoki event. The 2010 La Niña Modoki weather pattern, which brings wetter conditions to eastern Australia, was the strongest since 1973. This La Niña event caused a prolonged event of heavy rainfall over Queensland river catchments. Record or near to record sea surface temperatures were recorded off the Queensland coast in late 2010.〔 December 2010 was Queensland's wettest on record, with record high rainfall totals set in 107 locations for the month. The state average rainfall level of exceeded the previous record of set in 1975.〔("Queensland in December 2010: The wettest December on record" ) ''Monthly Climate Summary for Queensland''. 4 January 2011. Bureau of Meteorology. Product code IDCKGC24R0. Retrieved 12 January 2011〕 2010 was also recorded as the state's wettest spring since 1900〔("Queensland in spring 2010: The wettest spring" ) Wednesday, 1 December 2010. Bureau of Meteorology. Product code IDCKGC14R0. Retrieved 12 January 2011〕 and the Australian continent's third wettest year. Climate scientist Kevin Trenberth thought climate change was a contributing factor in the unusually high precipitation rates.〔 He attributed a half-degree Celsius rise in ocean temperatures around Australia to global warming which produces extra water vapour and intensifies the monsoon. Other scientists say that it is too early to draw such a conclusion. Assertions were also made that mismanagement of the Wivenhoe Dam might be a contributor to the some flooding in the lower Brisbane valley although this is disputed by engineers. Isolated flooding started across parts of the state in early December. On 23 December a monsoonal trough crossed the coast from the Coral Sea, bringing torrential rain that fell in a broad swath from the Gulf of Carpentaria to the Gold Coast. The widest range of intense rainfall occurred on 27 December with very high daily totals recorded on 25 December near where Cyclone Tasha crossed the coast.〔 By 30 December vast areas of Southern and Central Queensland were affected by the flood. The conditions led to a large influx of snakes in the Rockhampton area, as well as some crocodiles. 抄文引用元・出典: フリー百科事典『 ウィキペディア（Wikipedia）』 ■ウィキペディアで「2010–11 Queensland floods」の詳細全文を読む スポンサード リンク
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