Protesters Rally As Australian PM Tours Flood Disaster

Scores of protesters in a flood-wrecked city in eastern Australia vented their fury Wednesday as Prime Minister Scott Morrison visited the heart of the disaster zone

Sydney, March 9 (APP - UrduPoint / Pakistan Point News - 9th Mar, 2022 ) :Scores of protesters in a flood-wrecked city in eastern Australia vented their fury Wednesday as Prime Minister Scott Morrison visited the heart of the disaster zone.

Demonstrators demanded more help and stronger climate action as Morrison toured Lismore, which endured some of the worst flooding in a near two-week deluge along the east coast that has killed 20 people.

"We need help!" protesters chanted as Morrison visited the city.

Many of them held placards with messages blaming the climate crisis including: "Coal and gas did this" and "This is what climate change looks like." After the second major floods in a year, chunks of rubble and discarded, water-damaged furniture were piled high along the city's streets.

Many people had to clamber onto their corrugated metal roofs to escape the fast-rising water last week as floods peaked in the city in northern New South Wales.

Some waited for hours to be rescued by locally improvised boat patrols, emergency services vessels, or army helicopters as the waters surged around them.

Floodwaters across much of the east coast retreated as rainfall eased Wednesday but major flood warnings were still in force in some areas including at the Hawkesbury River west of Sydney.

Evacuation orders affecting about 40,000 people in New South Wales were in force in the morning. More than 90,000 people had been allowed to return to their homes.

Facing pointed questions at a news conference in the city, Morrison defended his government's climate record by stressing its commitment to achieving net zero greenhouse gas emissions by 2050.