Thousands Evacuate Australian Floods

CANBERRA, Australia (AP) – Tens of thousands of people have been ordered to evacuate their homes and many more have been told to prepare to flee as parts of Australia’s southeast coast are inundated by the worst flooding in decades. The flooding has claimed at least nine lives. Scores of residents spent hours trapped on their roofs in recent days by a fast-rising river in the town of Lismore in northern New South Wales state. The body of a woman in her 80s was found by a neighbor in her Lismore home on Tuesday. There were no details of how she died. The New South Wales government says 40,000 people have been ordered to evacuate.