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Australia floods: Entire towns lie submerged under 4 feet of Sea Foam

By C. J. Refsland on January 28, 2013 • ( 0 )

Having a bubble: Wave after wave of frothy suds, formed during storms when powerful waves force air into the water, washed up onto shore bringing children out to play in the bubbles

The extreme weather that has blighted Australia in recent weeks took a bizarre twist today as dozens of beachfront towns became submerged in up to four feet of sea foam.

Wave after wave of frothy suds, whipped up in storms as powerful waves force air into the water, surged onshore blanketing roads and parks and bringing entire towns to a standstill.

But while the rare lather brought hundreds of children out of their homes to play in its bubbles, the bad weather that spawned it also bore tragedy to the region as floodwaters continued to rise, forcing thousands of homeowners to flee for their lives.

Four people have died so far, including a three-year-old boy who was struck by a falling tree in gale force winds in Brisbane yesterday as he sheltered with his 34-year-old pregnant mother. She is understood to be in a critical condition with broken bones and head injuries.

Four people are dead, another three are missing and thousands have been told to flee from their homes as floodwaters, fuelled by lashing rain, gush down through the eastern coast of Australia.

The body of a motorcyclist was pulled from the Oxley Creek, south of Brisbane, today after he was swept away while trying to ride through the current.

The other deaths, on Sunday, are those of an 81-year-old man whose body was found in the water near Bundaberg and a 27-year old man who tried to cross a flooded creek near the town of Gympie.

Surging suds: A solitary surfboard sits stranded in the sand in Alexandra Headland, Queensland, where the foam continued to rise

It gets everywhere: Nowhere in headland was safe from the froth as it covered streets and parks and even found its way into people's homes and garages

Frothy white: Burleigh Heads, Queensland, was one of the coastal towns completely submerged by the rare phenomenon

Frothy white: Burleigh Heads, Queensland, was also one of the coastal towns completely submerged by the rare phenomenon

Fun foam: Children played in the bubbles which are formed during storms when powerful waves force air into the water to produce foam

Bizarre weather: The Sunshine and Gold coasts have been pummelled by the low pressure system that was tropical cyclone Oswald in recent days, with six-metre swells reported in some areas

At least three other people remain unaccounted for today.

Patients have been evacuated from the ground floor of a hospital in the badly-hit town of Bundaberg, north of Brisbane, where Queensland premier Campbell Newman said today that there was ‘a very real prospect’ of houses being swept away.

As the level of the Burnett River in Bundaberg rose to 9m – and was still rising – Mr Newman said a ‘significant number’ of people in 2000 homes were about to be trapped and warned: ‘If you can get out safely now – do it!’

Last night the town, located 240 miles north of Brisbane, had become an island, with floodwaters cutting off every road leading into the city, leaving no way in or out except by boat or helicopter.