In North East Australia, the end of the hottest year and decade globally since records began was punctuated with "biblical" floods that have covered an area the size of France and Germany Combined (larger than Texas, or about the size of British Columbia)!

Close to this time last year (Feb. 2009), after a decade-long state of climate change-induced drought and days of a heat wave that sweltered to a near unbearable peak of 49ºC/120ºF, 100 km/60 mph winds helped more than 400 wildfires set large swaths of countryside ablaze in what has become the worst -- and deadliest -- Australian natural disaster in a century.

People burned to death in futile attempts to save their homes, or in their cars as they tried to flee.  Others could only watch on as entire towns were laid waste.

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• Original Article - Emergency response needed for more than floods, David Spratt, Crikey
• Article - Extreme floods are just the beginning, Renfrey Clarke, Green Left
• Blog - Hottest Year & Decade Ends with Unprecedented, "Biblical" Australian Floods Covering an Area the Size of France & Germany Combined, Climate Progress
• Article - Australia Floods Larger Than France/Germany Combined Strand 200,000, AP
• Article - Australia Floods Turn Deadly: 'A Disaster of Biblical Proportions', AP
• Article - Record Floods Swamp Australia's North East, Daniel Munoz, Reuters
• ecoSanity - Feb. 2009, Australia: Front-Line of Devastating Climate Impacts, Leading Centre of Grassroots Efforts to Confront Them
• ecoSanity - Deadly Global Weather Extremes Impact Hundreds of Millions NOW!
• Website - Climate Action Centre, David Spratt
• Website - Carbon Equity, David Spratt
• Website - Climate Code Red, David Spratt, Philip Sutton
• ecoSanity - Australia: Collected
• ecoSanity - Climate Code Red
• ecoSanity - Climate Emergency
• ecoSanity - Weather Extremes