Days of despair in Australia

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>>> been a terrible time for the folks down under. they have suffered through months of seemingly nonstop natural disasters . 35 killed in massive flooding in queensland, australia . dozens of homes near perth destroyed by wildfires and a category 5 cyclone, as big as katrina, battered coastal communities last week. a rare sign of emotion from australia 's prime minister as she addressed parliament presenting them with an australian flag given to her by rescue workers found in the floodwaters.

>> it was recovered from murphy's creek. the helicopters continued with their search and rescue in the days to come, and they found this flag, mr. speaker. i was honored when they gave it to me, it was muddy and soaking wet, and they did so because it was a powerful symbol for them. of what it means to face the elements of what it means to be heard, of what it means to endure, of what it means to be australian. i spoke to them of courage , it spoke to them of courage . the courage it takes to keep filling sandbags even when your back is breaking. the courage it takes to hold your nerve in the dark as a cyclone races around you. the courage it takes to tell your children to run across the railway line , knowing it's dangerous, knowing they could fall, but knowing it's their only hope of getting to safety. the courage it takes for a young boy who pleaded with rescuers, take my brother first. and before the rescuer could return, jordan and mom donna were taken by the flood. but the legion of jordan's amazing courage will go on.

>> the prime minister of australia with the emotion of the moment these days in australia .

Days of despair in Australia

Having suffered through months of seemingly non-stop natural disasters, Australia's Prime Minister made an emotional address to Parliament on Tuesday as she presented them with an Australian flag found by rescue workers in the floodwaters. NBC's Brian Williams reports.

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This content comes from Closed Captioning that was broadcast along with this program.