Floods and cyclones strikes Queensland
It was not that long ago when I posted about my personal experience with flash flooding in Pattani. So when I heard about how parts of Queensland had been hit by floods, I could imagine the difficulties people there are going through. People had to leave homes and their properties, some got injured, others lost their lives. A truly painful experience. Dealing with the aftermath is far from an easy task too.
The floods were so bad that even Brisbane CBD had to be evacuated. This is what it looked like after the floods: http://news.ninemsn.com.au/national/8194723/instant-inland-tsunami-kills-four
While the federal government together with state government is still trying to deal with re-building infrastructure and helping victims, there is already more bad news on the way.
Around the weekend there had been warning of 2 possible cyclones likely to hit Queensland. On 1st Feb it hit northern Queensland, and I hear reports of wind velocity of about 200kms per hour. THAT would be one scary storm. When we had the floods in Pattani, with roofs of homes blown away, the wind was at about 50kms an hour. And I thought that was already scary, and was strong enough to almost blow me away.
Here are some pics of what cyclone Yasi did to the region: http://news.ninemsn.com.au/slideshowajax/145074/the-aftermath-of-cyclone-yasi.slideshow
The Federal Government had proposed a flood levy on all those earning more than $50,000 per year already when the floods stuck. I wonder how much they are going to try to raise in tax revenue to deal with the impact of the cyclone. DOnt get me wrong - Im not opposed to helping those who have been affected, or re-building infrastructure. I just believe the government need to have been more efficient with its budget management. Instead it sqaundered away the tax surplus and has now been running on a budget deficit. They then use a natural calamity as an opportunity to raise income tax - no matter what kind of levy you call it, it IS essentially a tax.
Had some discussions on the matter with a friend via facebook exchange, might see if any of those points are worth repeating here. If so, will update this post
The floods were so bad that even Brisbane CBD had to be evacuated. This is what it looked like after the floods: http://news.ninemsn.com.au/national/8194723/instant-inland-tsunami-kills-four
While the federal government together with state government is still trying to deal with re-building infrastructure and helping victims, there is already more bad news on the way.
Around the weekend there had been warning of 2 possible cyclones likely to hit Queensland. On 1st Feb it hit northern Queensland, and I hear reports of wind velocity of about 200kms per hour. THAT would be one scary storm. When we had the floods in Pattani, with roofs of homes blown away, the wind was at about 50kms an hour. And I thought that was already scary, and was strong enough to almost blow me away.
Here are some pics of what cyclone Yasi did to the region: http://news.ninemsn.com.au/slideshowajax/145074/the-aftermath-of-cyclone-yasi.slideshow
The Federal Government had proposed a flood levy on all those earning more than $50,000 per year already when the floods stuck. I wonder how much they are going to try to raise in tax revenue to deal with the impact of the cyclone. DOnt get me wrong - Im not opposed to helping those who have been affected, or re-building infrastructure. I just believe the government need to have been more efficient with its budget management. Instead it sqaundered away the tax surplus and has now been running on a budget deficit. They then use a natural calamity as an opportunity to raise income tax - no matter what kind of levy you call it, it IS essentially a tax.
Had some discussions on the matter with a friend via facebook exchange, might see if any of those points are worth repeating here. If so, will update this post
posted by Jyoti at
4:13 pm
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