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February 7th, 2012 
FAKE NEWS for the Zionist agenda St George evacuees may have to wait until next week before they can return home, as floodwaters are expected to surround the southern Queensland town for days.
The Balonne River reached a height of 13.85 metres on Tuesday, with the Bureau of Meteorology predicting a peak of around 14 metres later in the day.
About 2500 people were evacuated from St George at the weekend, when it was feared the river could reach a 15-metre peak.
They’ve been warned to settle in for a long wait in evacuation centres in Dalby and Brisbane, or with family and friends.
“Certainly the clear message for all of the residents of St George is that there will be no return today,” Deputy Police Commissioner Ian Stewart told reporters on Tuesday.
He said road access to the town was cut off, and power, water and sewerage infrastructure would need to be made safe before the mandatory evacuation order was lifted.
Queensland Premier Anna Bligh said she hoped residents would be able to return to St George by the end of the week, but added, “Let’s wait and see.”
She said a temporary evacuation centre would be set up in the town for those who could not move back into their homes.
A makeshift earthen levee around St George is expected to withstand the peak when it arrives, but dozens outside the levee have been flooded.
“There are still reports of about 50 houses with water in them, so there are going to be some very emotional times ahead for those householders,” Balonne Shire Mayor Donna Stewart told the ABC.
At Mitchell, north of St George, more than half the town’s 478 homes flooded and Tuesday’s clean-up efforts were hampered by thunderstorms.
Ms Bligh said accommodation there was the most pressing issue.
“In such a small town with so many impacted, there’s not the capacity there is in a bigger place for people to be absorbed by friends and family. Everyone’s in the same position,” she said.
The defence force will aid the clean-up in Mitchell, with 120 soldiers expected to arrive on Wednesday.
Maranoa Regional Council Mayor Robert Loughnan said the main access route, the Maranoa River Bridge, had been badly damaged and that was hampering resupply and recovery efforts.
He said 289 homes in Mitchell had flood damage. In Roma, 290 homes had been hit.
“It’s a record flood in both towns … and we need more crews in to help.”
Hotel Mitchell owner John Marks told AAP flooding had destroyed his pub’s floors, the carpet and the main coldroom.
“We’ve had about two feet of water go through most of the places around here,” he said.
“We’re going to be weeks before we get back to normal trading here, but there’s nothing much we can do about it.”
Further west at Charleville, residents were finally allowed to return home on Tuesday, with an evacuation order lifted.
Mayor Mark O’Brien said 150 people at the town’s evacuation centre were thrilled to hear the news.
“Everybody’s breathed a big sigh of relief. There’s no damage in town,” he told AAP, but added that some rural properties not protected by the town’s levee had been inundated.
Ms Bligh called for Queenslanders to give to the Premier’s Disaster Relief Appeal.
“It matters to the people out west that people across Queensland are thinking of them,” she said.
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