Migrants Share Their Stories Of Crossing Mediterranean Sea; Flooding in Australia Kill Four
LU STOUT: Now more than 400 migrants are in Sicily. They were rescued by the Italian navy. And CNN's Karl Penhaul has been following the story from Augusta, Sicily where those rescued migrants are now safely on shore. And Karl joins us now live. And Karl, we've been seeing the hundreds of migrants, including women, including children. They've arrived there. They're all looking for a safe place to live. Tell us more about who they are and where they're from.</s>PENHAUL: Yeah, when you look at those migrants getting off that Italian navy vessel, Kristie, you really have some kind of sense of how terrible things must have been at home that they gambled everything that they have, and at this stage the most precious thing they have is their lives themselves, to try and reach some kind of safe haven here in Europe. We saw women coming down the gang plank with babes in arms. We saw children so small they couldn't really walk. It was all they could do to totter on their way to taking the first steps towards this new life. But now, the charity workers, the health workers have been interviewing some of these migrants, finding out their stories. So now we know that there were Syrians on board obviously fleeing the civil conflict there. There were Egyptians on board fleeing, of course, the consequences of democratic breakdown in Egypt. There are Somalians on board there fleeing their failed state, Eritreans, Sudanese as well trying to escape rampant poverty. They come from all walks of life trying to look for this safe haven. The other thing, of course, right now as they're processed in some of those tents behind us, receiving medical checks and also an identification process, the Italian police is there as well. They're looking through, they're talking to migrants one by one, to find out if there is any sign of the people smugglers that have brought these migrants here. Because what the authorities want to try and do now, is to try and crack down on these trafficking rings, who are setting these migrants afloat in the Mediterranean with really very little care if they reach the shores of Europe dead or alive. And these survivors in particular in their earlier accounts of what went on, some speak that they were on a boat for more than 20 days, floating off the shores of Egypt. And then that boat was gradually loaded over a period of days on the high seas, and then as that boat came close to the shores of Libya the migrants, 446 of them, had to move across onto another boat. And then finally that headed towards Italy. Really, terrible, long journeys without adequate food and water. They're lucky to be here at all, Kristie.</s>LU STOUT: Very lucky indeed. These hundreds of migrants, they have survived this nightmare at sea. And as you put it, they want safe haven. They want a home. So what's next for them there in Italy?</s>PENHAUL: Well, I put that question to one of the representatives of the save the children fund who is obviously keeping a very close eye on what is going on here. And yes, they are lucky to have arrived here, but that is not the end of their journey, she says. You know, now these people will be processed. They'll be identified. They'll have to go to a migration processing center. They could spend weeks, months or possibly even years there before they're given some sort of asylum in Europe. Some of them, in fact, don't want asylum here in Italy because of economic slowdown, of slow growth, of lack of jobs. They want to try and make it north towards some of the more prosperous countries in Europe to really give themselves and their children some chance of a better life. Some of them are coming here solo as well. So their thoughts, even though they land in the safer lands they're though of with their families back in the country of origin. A man that I talked to yesterday, for example, he's been here for 10 days, but his thoughts are with his wife and kids still in Syria, Kristie.</s>LU STOUT: Yeah, so even for these hundreds of survivors, the journey and the uncertainty is still not over yet. Karl Penhaul reporting for us live from Sicily, thank you, Karl. Now people in Australia, they are assessing the damage from one of the worst storms to hit the country in some time. Now authorities have just recovered the body of a woman whose car was swept away by the flood waters, bringing the total death toll from those storms to four. Now 7 Network spoke to residents about the impact of the storm.</s>UNIDENTIIFED MALE: Dunbalk (ph) has been devastated. Up to 80 homes have been damaged or destroyed in the deluge. It's the aftermath of raging flood waters that caused this. Houses ripped from their foundations and washed away in the town's worst downpour in 100 years. About the time this was happening, five elderly residents were clinging to the gutter of these flats, their lives saved by Matt Finney.</s>UNIDENIFIED MALE: Had to swim up the driveway, and actually grabbed a wheely on my way past, and swam around into the flat's driveway and (inaudible) them out one at a time.</s>UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Mark Winters couldn't wait and swam to safety.</s>UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Because staying inside you would have drowned, as you can see that water came up to here.</s>UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: His neighbor, Brian Wilson didn't make it.</s>UNIDENITIFIED MALE: I had him swim out and I swam back to him. And that's when he died.</s>UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Collin Webb (ph), described as a tough but kind country man didn't get out either. He died trapped inside his unit. Robin McDonald (ph) in her 70s was last heard saying she couldn't swim. She wouldn't leave her dog Pip now being cared for by a friend.</s>UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: The water came up to that mark there.</s>UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Their neighbors managed to escape and return today to assess the damage. Some locals don't even know where to begin the cleanup, or even start to look for their lost belongings. And you can see why. Here is what's left of a bathroom, wedged underneath are two cars. A once in a century event that will take many years for residents to get over.</s>LU STOUT: Yeah, and although the storm has eased somewhat, authorities say there is another storm cell gathering north of Sydney. Now parts of New South Wales have been declared disaster zones. Now you're watching News Stream. And still to come, in honor of Earth Day, we are shining a light on the areas of our planet that need extra care, starting in China on what is said to be one of the world's largest electronic waste sites. And then we head to India where there are concerns that the poor air quality in New Delhi could actually be limiting the life spans of residents there.