Looters hit flooded Australian homes, shops

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SYDNEY, Jun 12 (AFP): Looters raided abandoned houses, businesses and cars during four days of violent storms in Australia, stealing everything from iPods to alcohol and cigarettes, outraged victims said Tuesday.
As a massive clear-up operation got into full gear after storms and floods that claimed nine lives, residents and traders said thieves had exploited the weekend's chaos to break in and steal.
About 5,000 residents in the Hunter and Central Coast areas north of Sydney have now returned home following the storms, which caused damage estimated at hundreds of millions of dollars.
Power utility EnergyAustralia said almost 30,000 homes were still blacked out and some may not be reconnected until the end of the week as technicians struggle to repair the worst damage to its network in 30 years.
Paul Murphy, a businessman in Newcastle, said the devastation of up to one million dollars' (840,000 US) of flood damage at his electrical goods shop was exacerbated when he found looters had taken advantage of his plight.
"On inspection, I'd seen that they had smashed the display cabinets and taken the iPods, and they've gone for the top class sort of products, so it's just very, very sad," he told the Australian Broadcasting Corporation.
Pub owner Vanessa Loades said her premises in Newcastle was hit twice by gangs of looters who stole cigarettes and alcohol, as well as causing 250,000 dollars in damage to gaming machines that they tried to pry open looking for money.
Loades told Australian Associated Press that she had hired a security guard after her pub was first hit Friday, but he was beaten up when about 30 looters returned the next night.
Police said cars abandoned in the floodwaters had radios and possessions removed, while the Australian newspaper reported looters in boats had cruised swollen creeks in the Central Coast region stealing from empty homes.
Police denied complaints from victims who said they had been told nothing could be done about the looters because available resources were concentrated on helping the emergency response.
Among those killed as the storms swept the east coast were three children and two adults from one family, who died when their car plunged into a flooded creek after the road collapsed beneath them.
The Insurance Council of Australia said it had received 15,000 claims and estimated storm damage at 200 million dollars.
Stephen Delaney, spokesman for emergency services in New South Wales state, said authorities were concentrating on reaching a small number of people still isolated in the Hunter Valley and repairing storm damage as waters receded.
"Our people are definitely planning on working right until it's over and at this stage that incorporates right through to Friday," he said.
Health authorities warned people to keep away from the floodwaters where possible because it may have been contaminated by overflowing sewerage pumping stations.
Maritime officials in the state said stabilisation work was continuing on the coal carrier Pasha Bulker, which was forced aground in Newcastle harbour Friday by gale-force winds and huge seas.
Newcastle Port Corporation chief executive Gary Webb said that removing the 40,000 tonne vessel was a complex task.
"This isn't like backing a tow truck to tow a car out after an accident," Webb told commercial television.
Some coal loading resumed Tuesday at Newcastle, but operations are expected to be hampered by damage to rail tracks used to move coal into the port from mines in the Hunter Valley.