flood

At least a dozen Jewish families in northeastern Australia have been evacuated from their homes as a major flood ripped through Queensland this week, killing at least 12 people. More than 40 people are still missing, and one Jewish man remains unaccounted for near the rural town of Toowoomba, which was flattened Monday by what police described as an “inland instant tsunami.” The bulk of Queensland’s 6,000 Jews live in the state’s capital, Brisbane, which was bracing for its river to peak early Thursday morning as analysts revised up their predictions of the damage bill to $13 million, or 1 percent of the gross domestic product.