Sydney (dpa) – More than 8,000 residents were ordered to evacuate as the Murrumbidgee River that flows through Wagga Wagga inched towards a level not seen in 159 years. A week of record-breaking rain in Australia's south east has seen floodwaters surge through floodplain towns and leave properties inundated, roads ripped up and farms awash. Wagga Wagga, 500 kilometers north-west of Sydney, is the latest settlement battling to keep the water out. Dieter Geske, the deputy head of emergency services in New South Wales state, warned those among the 58,000 Wagga Wagga residents refusing to budge that volunteers would not be asked to risk their lives saving them from the swirling waters. The Murrumbidgee, which is expected to peak at close to 11 meters in the next 12 hours, is currently at 10.2 meters and set to top the record of 10.9 meters set in 1853. “The levee may hold, it may not hold,” Geske told local television. BM ShortURL: http://goo.gl/XCFop Tags: Australia, Flood, Wagga Wagga Section: Latest News, Oceana
