The deluge that’s inundating Australia’s eastern states is hampering shipments from the world’s biggest coal export terminal.
Heavy rainfall and damaging winds are expected to continue on Tuesday, including in the key coal regions of the Hunter Valley and the Port of Newcastle. That is likely to see prices of the power-station fuel extend Monday’s climb to a two-year high, as coal in Europe also gained on the news.
Overnight there were 870 rescue operations in New South Wales state, as dams overflowed and catchments flooded. A further 15,000 people may be evacuated today, after 18,000 people were forced to leave their homes on Monday, Premier Gladys Berejiklian told reporters earlier today.
