Queen and Prince Charles Contribute to Flood Relief Appeal

Buckingham Palace and Clarence House have both confirmed that HM Queen Elizabeth II and HRH the Prince of Wales have both contributed to the Premier’s Flood Relief Appeal, whose funds will go towards helping rebuild the Australian state of Queensland following disaster flooding which began in December 2010.

A statement from Buckingham Palace said the Queen had made a private donation to the Appeal, while Clarence House’s Twitter stated that Prince Charles was “happy and proud” to make a donation.

The donations come after both the Queen and the Prince of Wales, together with the Duchess of Cornwall, released statements of sympathies and prayers to the Queensand government to pass on to those affected by the floods.

Queensland, Australia’s second largest state, currently has approximately 75% of its area (an area larger than the size of France and Germany combined) underwater following terrential rains which began in December 2010. More severe rain on January 6th, 2011 was a ‘build-up’ to what would come on January 10th – a two-meter high wall of water rushing through the town of Toowoomba, destroying everything in its path and described as an ‘inland tsunami’. Two days later, Ipswich was hit, before the water rushed towards Queensland’s capital, Brisbane. 16 people have been confirmed dead, with 20 people still missing (a number revised down from 53 last night). The Queensland government has estimated that it will cost $AUD5 billion to rebuild Queensland. The Premier’s Flood Relief Appeal has raised$AUD54.6 million as of 10:20am, January 14th (local time).

Filed under The United Kingdom
Tagged Australia, Donations, Elizabeth II of the United Kingdom, Natural Disaster, The Prince of Wales.

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