Dust storm rings alarm bell for environment protection
SYDNEY. September 23. KAZINFORM When Jeff Smith was about to start out for work at 7: 40, he was shocked by what he saw -- a dust storm engulfed Sydney, the largest city in Australia; Kazinform refers to Xinhua.
An eerie fog of dust blanketed his house, the neighboring streets and the sky, reducing visibility to less than 100 meters, and bringing traffic to a standstill in places as motorists turned on their headlights and hoped for the best to go through the surreal conditions.
"I saw a blanket of red dust over Sydney when I left my home for the office this morning. I thought Sydney was attacked from the outside," Smith, a bank employee working in Sydney's central business district, told Xinhua.
"It really surprised me, you know. But when I set off to the street and know the real situation, I know this is not the end of the world," he said with a smile.
The traffic delay took him nearly 2 hours to reach the office, a trip normally takes 40 minutes, he complained.
According to the New South Wales (NSW) Environment Department, the dust storm has blown 16,000 tons of dust across the state each hour in the last 24 hours. The dust, the worst since 1939, has affected not only Smith's travel, but also the traffic of the whole city; Kazinform cites Xinhua.
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