Kindgo
Advanced Member
Member # 2
|
posted
SYDNEY (AFP) Nov 13, 2002
A gigantic dust cloud rolled across the drought-stricken outback of eastern Australia , whipped up from parched farmlands by a powerful cold front.
The front originated in the west of New South Wales (NSW) state on Tuesday and then headed 1,000 kilometers (600 miles) eastwards, swirling tonnes of soil particles into a dense cloud that covered rural towns like Dubbo and Orange and reached the outskirts of Sydney, Australia's biggest city.
"We had a very, very strong cold front come across NSW yesterday and that picked up a lot of dust in western parts of NSW," a spokesman for the meteorology department said.
"That cold front has now moved and deposited dust in eastern parts of the state," he said.
A spokeswoman for the state agriculture department said the dust storm would scour valuable topsoil from parched farms.
A giant dust storm whipped up by high winds three weeks ago stretched over four states in eastern Australia, carrying millions of tonnes of topsoil out into the ocean.
The NSW health department at that time warned people with respiratory problems to remain indoors, but no similar alert was issued this week.
Thunderstorms were expected across parts of the region later Wednesday.
Eastern Australia is in the grips of its worst drought in decades.
The dry, now in its seventh month, has slashed agricultural output, cut exports and dragged down economic growth nationwide.
It has also fueled hundreds of bushfires in recent weeks, with little relief in sight.
http://www.spacedaily.com/news/0211...4.pr2lktpm.html
--------------------
God bless,
Kindgo
Inside the will of God there is no failure. Outside the will of God there is no success.
Posts: 4320 | From: Sunny Florida | Registered: Jun 2002
| IP: Logged | 
|
Printer-friendly view of this topic
