hips don't lie: Travel advice: Storm Oswald continues to cause Australia flight disruption

Thứ Ba, 29 tháng 1, 2013

Travel advice: Storm Oswald continues to cause Australia flight disruption

By
Travelmail Reporter

PUBLISHED:

07:15 EST, 29 January 2013

|

UPDATED:

08:47 EST, 29 January 2013

Flight services in parts of Australia continue to be disrupted by ex-tropical cyclone Oswald.

The extreme weather seen in recent weeks has wreaked havoc across the country’s east with flash flooding, strong winds and torrential rain prompting evacuations of dozens of towns. At least four people have been killed.

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Rooftop rescues: Floods in the town of Biloela in the Australian state of Queenland. Helicopters plucked dozens of stranded Australians to safety today

The Sunshine and Gold coasts have been
pummelled by the low pressure system of Oswald in
recent days, with six-metre swells reported in some areas.

Although the storm is now heading south and out to sea, having not caused the severe weather in Sydney that forecasters had predicted, it has left swollen rivers in its wake.

More than 1000 people in the Queensland city of Bundaberg were evacuated after the banks of the River Burnett burst causing severe flooding and the city of Grafton is being emptied over fears that the Clarence River could also flood.

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Rising tides: A family in a boat negotiate flood water and debris in the town of Bundaberg, Queensland.

The majority of cancelled flights are to airports in Brisbane, Canberra, Melbourne and on the Gold Coast. Virgin Australia said it had been forced to cancel 16 flights from Sydney.

Qantas, which also owns airline Jetstar, said it was unsure how many flights would be affected but that passengers with cancelled flights could re-book or re-route their tickets if they were issued before January 29th.

Travellers in Australia aren’t the only ones suffering the impact of extreme weather. In the US, Storm Luna has caused hundreds of flights to be cancelled in the midwest and northeast.

The FlightStats website estimated that New York’s airports were among the worst affected with 153 cancelled at La Guardia and 177 flights grounded at Newark yesterday with further cancellations expected today.

Philadelphia, Washington Dulles and Chicago O’Hare have also suffered disruptions.