1 dead, 31 injured as Typhoon Soulik hits

One person was killed as Typhoon Soulik slammed into Taiwan, bringing powerful winds and heavy rain. Source: AAP

TYPHOON Soulik has battered Taiwan with torrential rain and powerful winds, leaving one person dead and at least 30 injured.

Roofs were ripped from homes, debris and fallen trees littered the streets and some areas were submerged by flood waters during Saturday's wild weather.

One town in central Taiwan reported "widespread" landslides and water levels a storey high.

More heavy rain and strong winds are predicted throughout Saturday with the authorities warning of further landslides and flooding.

Around 8000 people were evacuated from their homes before the typhoon struck, with hundreds of soldiers deployed to high-risk areas and the whole island declared an "alert zone" by the authorities.

In the capital Taipei, a 50-year-old police officer died after being hit by bricks that came loose during the typhoon, the Central Emergency Operation Centre said.

Three people were left seriously injured with 31 reported hurt across the island, most injured by trees or flying debris.

Soulik made landfall on the northeast coast around 3am Saturday (0600 AEST), packing winds of up to 190km/h, the Central Weather Bureau (CWB) said.

"Heavy rains are expected throughout the day, especially in the mountainous areas in the centre and south," a weather forecaster from the bureau told AFP.

Strong winds were also predicted, he said, but added that the CWB was likely to lift the current land warning on Saturday night as the threat from the typhoon diminishes and it churns towards mainland China.

Nine people were rescued from flooded homes in the Shiangshan area of Puli, a town in central Nantou county, which was also hit by landslides.

"The water came very fast, catching residents totally unprepared - in some areas, it was one-storey deep," township official Wu Yuan-ming told AFP.

The nine caught in the floodwaters were rescued by firefighters in rubber boats after the river broke its banks, Wu said.

"Flooding and landslides were widespread in the town, especially in the areas near mountains," he added, calling the effects of the typhoon "more serious than we predicted".

Landslides reached the backyards of residents' homes but they had already evacuated, Wu said.

A major landslide on a mountain road leading to Taian, a central town famous for its hot spring resorts, was also reported by local media.

The northern village of Bailan saw the heaviest rain, measuring 900mm over the past two days, with winds gusting up to 220km/h.

Streets were submerged under 30cm of seawater in the port city of Keelung, the National Fire Agency said, with flooding also reported in the coastal area of Yilan and in New Taipei City, the area surrounding the capital.

Low-lying houses along the Hsintien River through greater Taipei were flooded, including one aboriginal village from which residents had been evacuated Friday, a police officer told AFP.

Local television showed roofs ripped from homes in northern Keelung and in Taipei, where 120km/h winds and downpours disrupted power, uprooted trees and left the streets strewn with rubbish.

Across Taiwan, electricity supplies in nearly 800,000 homes were down but half had been restored by Saturday afternoon, according to the Taiwan Power Company.

Around 170 flights into and out of Taiwan were cancelled or delayed, while offices and schools remained closed, with the public advised to stay indoors.

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Search for answers after French rail crash

A passenger train has derailed and crashed into a station outside Paris, killing at least seven. Source: AAP

INVESTIGATORS are working to determine the cause of a train crash near Paris that claimed six lives as the French transport minister warned more victims could yet be found.

Praising the quick reflexes of the driver, who sent up the alert that halted all train traffic in the area, Transport Minister Frederic Cuvillier virtually ruled out human error in the disaster.

He said the probe would focus instead on the "rolling stock, infrastructure and the precise signalling area".

"Fortunately the locomotive driver had absolutely extraordinary reflexes by sending the alert immediately, which avoided a collision with a train that was coming the other way and just a few seconds later would have smashed into the cars that were derailing. So it's not a human problem," Cuvillier told French radio on Saturday.

The train derailed and crashed into a station platform on Friday afternoon, killing six and leaving 30 injured, eight seriously.

Rescue teams worked through the night checking the wreckage of overturned carriages to see if any passengers remained trapped inside.

Cuvillier said earlier on Saturday that further "unfortunate discoveries" could not be ruled out.

The regional train was heading from Paris to the west-central city of Limoges. It derailed as it passed through the station at Bretigny-sur-Orge, about 25km south of Paris.

Four carriages of the train jumped the tracks, of which three overturned. One carriage smashed across a platform and came to rest on a parallel track; another lay half-way across the platform.

Passenger Marc Cheutin, 57, told AFP he had to "step over a decapitated person" after the accident, to exit the carriage he had been travelling in.

A witness who had been waiting for a train at the station, Vianey Kalisa, told AFP: "I saw a lot of wounded people, women and children trapped inside (the carriages).

"I was shaking like a child. People were screaming. One man's face was covered in blood. It was a like a war zone."

Guillaume Pepy, head of France's SNCF rail service, told reporters that SNCF, judicial authorities and France's BEA safety agency would each investigate the cause of the derailment.

A railway passenger association denounced what it called "rust-bucket trains" and the practice of coupling different types of trains together, demanding proper inspections.

Visiting the scene on Friday night, President Francois Hollande said: "We should avoid unnecessary speculation. What happened will eventually be known and the proper conclusions will be drawn."

Officials said the derailment happened at minutes after the intercity train left the Paris-Austerlitz station.

"The train arrived at the station at high speed. It split in two for an unknown reason. Part of the train continued to roll while the other was left on its side on the platform," a police source told AFP.

Cuvillier, who also visited the crash site, said the train had been travelling at 137km/h at the time of the crash.

That was below the 150km/h limit for that part of the track.

Some 300 firefighters, 20 paramedic teams and eight helicopters were deployed to treat casualties at the scene and airlift the most seriously injured to nearby hospitals.

In total, 192 people were treated by emergency services, officials said. There were 385 passengers on the train, which means it was not overcrowded.

The derailment was France's worst rail accident since 2008, when a train collided with a schoolbus, killing seven schoolchildren.

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Philippine army-rebel clash leaves 7 dead

THE Philippine military says members of a breakaway Muslim guerrilla faction have attacked government troops, triggering a firefight that killed two soldiers and five guerrillas.

Regional military spokesman Colonel Dickson Hermoso says about 20 members of the Bangsamoro Islamic Freedom Fighters ambushed soldiers on a military truck early on Saturday in southern Maguindanao province's Guindulungan township.

Hermoso says the firefight that erupted lasted about 15 minutes before the guerrillas withdrew with troops in pursuit.

The military says the same group launched attacks last week to undermine the peace talks. Five soldiers and at least 25 guerrillas were killed then.

Malaysia is brokering the negotiations to end the decades-long rebellion led by the Moro Islamic Liberation Front.

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World's largest building opens in China

BOASTING its own artificial sun and a floor area three times that of the Pentagon, the "world's largest building" has opened in southwest China to mixed reviews from its first visitors.

The towering 100-metre high New Century Global Centre, which is said to to be big enough to hold 20 Sydney Opera Houses, recently opened its doors at Chengdu.

The complex, which Chinese officials say is the world's largest stand-alone structure, is 500 metres long by 400 metres wide, offering 1.7 million square metres of floor space.

But the first wave of visitors were divided over the attractions of the the structure, which houses 400,000 square metres of shopping space, offices, conference rooms, a university complex, two commercial centres, two five star hotels, and an IMAX cinema.

"It lacks creativity," said one visitor on Sina Weibo, China's version of Twitter.

Another visitor poked fun at its name.

"Why is everything in Chengdu called 'global'," the poster said.

However, some Internet users were impressed with the complex, which opened on June 28.

"It will become the new landmark of Chengdu," said one poster.

The Global Centre has a marine theme, with fountains, a huge water park and a centrepiece artificial beach under an undulating roof meant to resemble a wave.

The 5000 square metre beach includes a rafting course and a "seafront" promenade, complete with parasols and seafood outlets that can accommodate 6000 people.

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No deal on school reforms: Qld premier

Queensland Premier Campbell Newman says his government needs more time to consider school reforms. Source: AAP

THE Queensland government hasn't signed up to the federal government's education reforms but has left the door open.

Premier Campbell Newman says no deal has been reached yet after meeting with Prime Minister Kevin Rudd, federal Education Minister Bill Shorten and state Education Minister John-Paul Langbroek on Friday afternoon.

He says the Sunday deadline has been pushed back a few weeks so Queensland and the federal government can possibly iron out outstanding issues.

Mr Newman praised Mr Rudd for having a positive meeting with him, unlike previous prime minister Julia Gillard, he said.

"We've talked about it for a considerable period of time, I cannot give you anything other than saying it was a productive discussion," Mr Newman told reporters.

"It was again a discussion that was not afforded to us by the previous prime minister.

"I thank the prime minister for that.

"It was very productive and we now know what we have to do to try to reach an agreement."

Mr Shorten said the federal government had agreed to a request from the Queensland to extend the deadline for deal by seven to 14 days.

The minister conceded there were still significant issues to resolve, but said the government would respect a set principles during the negotiations.

These include that the federal government would make sure taxpayers' money was spent in the best possible way on education and the Queensland government was allowed autonomy in running the state's schools.

"The question is can we marry those two principles in the best interests of school children in Queensland," Mr Shorten said.

"It was a very constructive dialogue."

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Japan heatwave kills 12: reports

A heatwave across Japan has killed at least 12 people, with no immediate end to the misery in sight. Source: AAP

A SEVERE heatwave that hit Japan a week ago has claimed at least a dozen lives, reports say.

The mercury has topped 35C in areas right across the country for several days, with no immediate end to the misery in sight, forecasters say.

Thousands of people have been taken to hospital suffering from heatstroke or exhaustion, with at least 12 of them dying, Jiji Press and other media reported on Friday.

Most of those affected are over 65, but there have also been groups of schoolchildren who were participating in school activities outside.

One recent death was that of a 90-year-old man whose body was discovered by his son inside an apartment. The air conditioner was turned off, Jiji said.

On Friday, the day's highest temperature was 38.3C in Kawanehon town in Shizuoka prefecture. More than 40 other spots recorded highs of 35C or more, Japan's meteorological agency said.

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Snowden to meet rights activists in Moscow

The Deputy Secretary of State says the US is "very disappointed" how China handled the Snowden case. Source: AAP

FUGITIVE US intelligence leaker Edward Snowden is set to meet with leading Russian rights activists and lawyers at the airport in Moscow where he has been stuck in transit for nearly three weeks.

Several campaigners have told AFP they will attend the 2300 AEST meeting on Friday after receiving an invitation from Snowden, in what will be the former government contractor's first publicised encounter since he arrived on a flight from Hong Kong.

According to the purported invitation from Snowden posted on social media by one activist, the fugitive wants to discuss his "next steps" forward.

He also rails against the "unlawful campaign" against him by Washington which is seeking his extradition after he leaked details of pervasive US intelligence surveillance

Those invited included representatives of Amnesty International, Human Rights Watch and Transparency International as well as several prominent lawyers working in Moscow.

"I can confirm that Mr Snowden will hold a meeting with rights representatives on the territory of the airport," Sheremetyevo spokeswoman Anna Zakharenkova told AFP.

"We will provide access and premises," she added, declining to provide further details.

Snowden has made no public appearances since arriving at the state-controlled airport in the Russian capital on June 23. According to officials, he has spent the whole time in the airport transit zone.

Sergei Nikitin of the Moscow branch of Amnesty International told AFP he received an email inviting his group and said "we are planning to go".

Elena Panfilova of Transparency International said the "somewhat unexpected" invitation was being discussed. She said the email had come from an apparently secure email address in Snowden's name.

Tatyana Lokshina of Human Rights Watch in Moscow said on her Facebook page that she had also received an invitation from Snowden although she could not yet confirm "it was real".

She quoted the email as saying Snowden wanted to have the meeting for "a brief statement and discussion regarding the next steps forward in my situation".

Kristinn Hraffnson, spokesman for the WikiLeaks anti-secrecy website which is supporting Snowden, told AFP that he could not confirm that the meeting was planned.

The email thanked Latin American states for considering an application for asylum but denounced "an unlawful campaign by officials in the US government to deny my right to seek and enjoy this asylum".

Leftist Latin American states are seen as the most likely destination for Snowden, who has applied for asylum in 27 countries.

Bolivia, Venezuela and Nicaragua have all expressed readiness to consider giving Snowden asylum.

Prominent Moscow lawyer Genrikh Padva confirmed to AFP that he had received an invitation for a meeting at the airport on Friday afternoon local time, but did not believe he would have time to attend.

Olga Kostina, a rights activist who is a member of Russia's public chamber advisory body, told the state ITAR-TASS news agency that she would attend "if just out of curiosity".

Interfax said Russia's human rights ombudsman Vladimir Lukin had been invited and he told the agency he was ready to attend the meeting.

A source had told Interfax the day earlier that the United States and Russia were now in "wait-and-see" mode over Snowden, indicating that a rapid solution to his presence may not be in sight.

President Vladimir Putin has vowed that Moscow will not extradite Snowden but also indicated the Kremlin is keen to see the back of a man who has added an additional problem to already strained relations with Washington.

The meeting comes after the United States on Thursday told China it was upset it did not hand over Snowden after he fled to Hong Kong, saying that the decision had undermined relations.

President Barack Obama, meeting senior Chinese officials who were in Washington for annual talks, "expressed his disappointment and concern" over the Snowden case, the White House said.

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Six teens arrested for stealing cars in NT

A 14-year-old boy has been charged with stealing and crashing a taxi in the Northern Territory. Source: AAP

IT was a week for teenage joyrides in the Northern Territory as a 14-year-old Darwin boy was charged with stealing and crashing a taxi and five teens were arrested after stealing a car and driving it 1200km south.

The Darwin boy allegedly stole the taxi from a depot at about 1.20am (CST) on Friday, police say.

Police spotted him driving the cab along Mueller Road, but the boy took off.

At about 6am the taxi was found, crashed through the front fence of a home in Bellamack, with the left door ripped off and the front left tyre hanging by its axel.

Police arrested a 14-year-old boy shortly afterwards and charged him with half a dozen offences, including stealing, speeding, and aggravated unlawful use of a motor vehicle.

He will appear in Darwin Youth Justice Court at a later date.

Police are still looking for three accomplices.

Meanwhile, five other teens have been arrested in Alice Springs for allegedly stealing a car in Palmerston.

Four males aged 18, 16, and two aged 14, along with a 16-year-old girl are expected to be charged shortly with various offences including unlawful entry, stealing, unlawful use of a motor vehicle, unlawful damage, driving without a licence, and failing to stop for police.

Detective Superintendent Brent Warren said the group allegedly stole a Daewoo Nubira from a residence in Driver on Wednesday.

Supt Warren said they drove the vehicle to Tennant Creek where they stole around $50 worth of petrol from a service station before heading south to Alice Springs.

Police are searching for a 16-year-old boy who fled from police when the other five were arrested.

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Police mull charges for Canada train crash

Firefighters were responsible for the derailment and explosion of an oil tanker train in Canada. Source: AAP

POLICE are looking at criminal negligence as the cause of worst train disaster in recent Canadian history, while the US firm involved denies any responsibility.

The death toll rose from 13 to 15 with the discovery of two more bodies after the explosion and inferno produced by the derailment of a train carrying oil near Montreal. Around 40 people are still missing.

Quebec police are looking for "evidence that might allow the filing of criminal charges," said police inspector Michel Forget. He did not specify against whom.

Standing 200 metres from the scene of the disaster, he said the hypothesis of criminal negligence was "under consideration."

Meanwhile the head of the US rail company at the centre of the disaster blamed firefighters for the derailment, as investigators combed through smouldering debris for evidence.

"We are very hopeful we will find more bodies," said Forget.

Residents of the small Quebec town of Lac-Megantic, part of which was flattened by the blast and subsequent inferno, began returning to their homes.

The explosion unleashed a wall of fire that tore through homes and businesses in Lac-Megantic, located east of Montreal near the US border.

The chairman of the Montreal, Maine & Atlantic Railway, Edward Burkhardt, accused firefighters of releasing the train's brakes when it was stopped in Nantes, around 13km west of Lac-Megantic, for a crew changeover.

Those firefighters had been called to douse a small fire in one of the train's five locomotives.

Burkhardt told the daily La Presse that Nantes firefighters "showed up and put out the fire with a fire extinguisher. To do that they also shut down the first locomotive's engines. This is what led to the disaster."

He explained that the train's brakes were powered by the locomotive and would have disengaged when it was shut down, causing the driverless train to start rolling downhill towards Lac-Megantic.

By the time the company was informed of the shutdown, the train - en route from the US state of North Dakota to a refinery in Canada's eastern New Brunswick province - had already reached the town, he said.

MMA trains will no longer be left unattended, he vowed, noting that the company had launched an internal investigation.

Nantes Fire Chief Patrick Lambert however dismissed Burkhardt's accusations, saying the 12 firefighters who responded to the locomotive engine fire followed all of the proper procedures.

The fire levelled more than four blocks, including 30 buildings, and forced about 2000 of the town's 6000 residents to flee. Many of those people began returning home on Tuesday.

A small area of downtown Lac-Megantic remained closed off as the clean-up began, with officials fearing that mopping up machinery could spark a fire in the sewers.

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Greek unions call July 16 general strike

GREECE'S main unions will hold a general strike on July 16 to oppose a new round of civil service job cuts announced by the government to secure EU-IMF loans.

"An emergency meeting of the executive committee has decided to call a 24-hour general strike on July 16" in reaction to a government bill enshrining the layoffs, leading union GSEE said in a statement on Wednesday.

The conservative-led Greek government on Tuesday submitted to parliament a bill detailing the redeployment of civil servants, which has sparked widespread protests.

Greek Finance Minister Yannis Stournaras has reportedly said parliament must approve the bill by July 19 in order for the heavily indebted country to receive the first instalment of rescue funds from its EU-IMF bailout.

Affecting thousands of teachers, school wardens and municipal staff, the latest cuts have caused fresh outrage in a country undergoing a fourth year of austerity and record unemployment.

Greece has committed to carrying out the reforms in exchange for about 6.8 billion euros ($A9.54 billion) in fresh bailout funds from the troika of international creditors - the European Union, the European Central Bank and the International Monetary Fund.

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Crisis sinks European birth rate: study

FEWER babies were born in Europe because of the world economic crisis, a study shows.

The birth rate per woman in 28 European countries sank faster on average the higher the unemployment rate rose, the Max Planck Institute for Demographic Research in the north-eastern German city of Rostock said in a study published in the journal Demographic Research.

The economic crisis, which began in 2008, ended a Europe-wide upswing in the birth rate, co-author Michaela Kreyenfeld said.

The trend most impacted southern European countries such as Spain and Croatia, as well as Hungary, Ireland and Latvia.

People under 25, in particular, forwent having children when faced with rising unemployment and the trend was observed most sharply in young people having their first child, the institute found.

It said that one of the biggest open questions in demographic research is the influence economic conditions have on reproduction.

The study proved that in Europe today the jobless rate in a country affects its people's willingness to have children, Kreyenfeld said.

If unemployment rises one percentage point, the birth rate per woman for 20- to 24-year-olds sinks 0.1 across the continent and 0.3 in southern Europe, she said.

The institute documented a particularly strong change in direction in Spain. The birth rate there was 1.24 children per woman at the beginning of the millennium and rose every year, reaching 1.47 in 2008, but in 2009, it fell to 1.4 as the jobless rate rose from 8.3 to 11.3 per cent. In 2011, births had fallen to 1.36 per woman.

In the Czech Republic, Poland, Britain and Italy, the economic crisis only stopped the rise in the birth rate. In Russia and Lithuania, the crisis had a small or no effect on births.

In Germany, Austria and Switzerland, the crisis had little effect on the birth rate, but unemployment in those countries rose little or not at all and in Germany it sank.

The institute is investigating whether the crisis is having a continuing effect on the birth rate. So far, it has only analysed data for 2001 to 2010 and part of 2011.

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Dropping dollar is good for unis

THE dropping dollar is being seen as a boost to Australia's international education industry.

Universities Australia says with international competition for tertiary students becoming more intense, the cost of going to university is playing a strong part in deciding whether to come to Australia or head to the US or UK.

The high Australian dollar had led to a dip in international students enrolling in local universities, UA chief executive Belinda Robinson said on Wednesday.

But recent drops meant studying at an Australian university had become a more affordable proposition.

International education is the country's fourth-largest export industry and the biggest non-resources export.

It's worth $14.5 billion a year.

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Seven killed in India building collapse

A hotel has collapsed in the southern Indian city of Secunderabad, killing five restaurant workers. Source: AAP

THE wall of a two-storey hotel has collapsed in the southern Indian city of Secunderabad, killing at least seven restaurant workers and injuring 15 others, local police officials say.

Rescue workers were searching through tonnes of rubble on Monday for those still trapped after the incident in Andhra Pradesh state, local police official Srinivasan, who goes by one name, said.

"Seven persons have been found dead so far after a nearby hotel collapsed early this morning. We are still trying to clear the rubble and find more people," he said.

Nearly 25 people were working at the City Light Hotel, located on a busy road in Secunderabad, when the kitchen wall gave way, burying staff under debris, local police official B Surender said.

Fifteen people were admitted to hospital, five of them with serious injuries, Surender said.

It was unclear how many people were still trapped under the rubble.

"The building was very old and the walls showed cracks, according to people working nearby," he added.

Rescue workers used diggers, cranes and electric cutters to try to clear the debris, as family members of the hotel workers waited at the site for news.

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Vic family denies threatening paramedics

A MELBOURNE family accused of threatening paramedics say their mother was left injured and bleeding in her home.

The paramedics set off a duress alarm and fled the home early on Monday morning, hitting a man as they tried to flee.

The pair had arrived to help an injured woman in Melbourne's north when they say they were threatened by a group of men.

The woman's family were angry it had taken 45 minutes for an ambulance to respond to the non-life threatening case.

But one of the woman's sons, who gave his name as Michael, said they had not threatened anyone or acted aggressively.

He said the paramedics' departure had meant his mother was left waiting even longer to be treated.

"I totally understand that they're doing their job but they can't act like that," he told reporters.

"They left an injured person inside the house, bleeding."

Ambulance Victoria chief executive Greg Sassella said the woman missed out on immediate treatment for an injured elbow because a vehicle containing more men rolled up at the scene.

"From the paramedics' point of view, there was no misunderstanding in their mind - they felt threatened," Mr Sassella told reporters.

Police are investigating the incident.

Mr Sassella said two previous ambulances had been dispatched to treat the woman but were diverted to more urgent patients.

The paramedics returned later to the Roxburgh Park house with police and took the woman to hospital with minor injuries.

A 24-year-old man suffered leg injuries and was also taken to hospital for observation.

Ambulance Employees Australia State Secretary Steve McGhie said the time it took for paramedics to arrive was due to under-resourcing.

"This is supply and demand. It shows how poorly covered this area is," he told AAP.

"The resources in that area are stretched, leaving people exposed."

Mr McGhie said anyone angry about slow response times should vent their anger at the Victorian government, not paramedics.

The state government has introduced laws creating mandatory minimum sentences for those found to have assaulted emergency workers, including paramedics.

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Five dead, 40 missing in Canada train fire

Canadian police say the crash of an oil-laden train in Quebec have claimed at least three lives. Source: AAP

QUEBEC provincial police say five people have died and about 40 are missing in the derailment and explosion on the weekend of a train carrying oil.

The number of dead was raised after two more bodies were found in the ruins of buildings destroyed by the explosion and the fires that broke out after the derailment in the small town of Lac-Megantic, which has about 6000 residents and is located 250 kilometres east of Montreal.

About 30 buildings in the centre of town were completely destroyed.

Local Fire Chief Denis Lauzon likened the charred scene to "a war zone".

"This is really terrible. Our community is grieving and it is taking its toll on us," Mayor Colette Roy-Laroche said.

Relatives and friends of the people who were in town at the time of the accident have created a web page with an eye toward determining the whereabouts of their loved ones.

Quebec authorities warned that the number of fatalities could rise substantially as rescue and recovery teams gain access to the central blast zone.

More than 24 hours after the accident, two cistern railcars continued burning and firefighters said that they could explode, a situation that is making rescue and recovery work more difficult.

For the moment, authorities have not made any statements regarding how the accident could have happened.

The train included five locomotives and 77 cistern cars filled with oil.

The company that owns the train, Montreal Main & Atlantic Railway, said that it was parked without an engineer on the outskirts of the town awaiting a shift change but then - for reasons that are not yet known - it began moving.

Edward Burkhardt, the president and CEO of Rail World Inc, the parent company of Montreal, Maine & Atlantic Railway, said the train had been parked uphill of Lac-Megantic.

The tanker cars then sped downhill into the town before derailing.

"If brakes aren't properly applied on a train, it's going to run away," said Edward Burkhardt.

"But we think the brakes were properly applied on this train."

Burkhardt, who was mystified by the disaster, said the train was parked because the engineer had finished his run.

"We've had a very good safety record for these 10 years," he said of the decade-old railway.

"Well, I think we've blown it here."

Prime Minister Stephen Harper announced he is heading to the town on Sunday.

Because of limited pipeline capacity in North Dakota's Bakken region and in Canada, oil producers are using railways to transport much of the oil to refineries on the East, Gulf and West coasts, as well as inland.

Myrian Marotte, a spokeswoman for the Canadian Red Cross in Lac-Megantic, said there are about 2000 evacuees and said 163 stayed at their operations centre overnight.

"There are those are still looking for loved ones," Marotte said.

Marotte said many of the evacuees are staying with family and friends.

"Some people have lost everything," she said.

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Hendra kills three NSW horses

A Chief Veterinary Officer says three horses on the NSW mid north coast have died from Hendra virus. Source: AAP

THREE horses have died from Hendra virus on the NSW mid north coast in a month, the state's Department of Primary Industries (DPI) says.

NSW Acting Chief Veterinary Officer Therese Wright said on Monday that a horse died at a property near Macksville after becoming ill on Thursday.

"The horse was noticeably ill on Thursday and was showing neurological changes, including loss of balance and staggering," Dr Wright said.

"The property has now been quarantined and a second horse on the property has been vaccinated, sampled and will continue to be monitored."

Dr Wright said the 18-year-old mare that died was not vaccinated against the Hendra virus.

Two other horses in the same area recently died from the virus, one on Saturday and the other on June 5, Dr Wright said.

The deaths represent the first Hendra cases in NSW since 2011 when 10 horses died on eight properties between late June and late August.

All properties affected in 2011 were in northeastern NSW.

However, there have been several cases of Hendra in Queensland in the last 12 months.

Horses can contract the virus by eating feed or drinking water contaminated with body fluids and excretions from flying foxes infected with the virus.

Although people can't contract the virus directly from bats they can through horses.

Vaccination is the single most effective way of reducing the risk of Hendra virus infection in horses.

The NSW properties affected by the latest deaths have been quarantined.

Director of communicable diseases at NSW Health, Vicky Sheppeard, said three people had been in contact with the most recent horse to die but their risk of contracting the virus was negligible to low.

Rockhampton vet Alister Rodgers died from the virus in 2009, Brisbane vet Ben Cunneen in 2008, Mackay cane farmer Mark Preston in 1995, and horse trainer Vic Rail in 1994.

The deaths represent the first Hendra cases in NSW since 2011 when 10 horses died on eight properties between late June and late August.

All properties affected in 2011 were in northeastern NSW.

However, there have been several cases of Hendra in Queensland in the last 12 months.

Horses can contract the virus by eating feed or drinking water contaminated with body fluids and excretions from flying foxes infected with the virus.

Although people can't contract the virus directly from bats they can through horses.

Vaccination is the single most effective way of reducing the risk of Hendra virus infection in horses.

The NSW properties affected by the latest deaths have been quarantined.

Director of communicable diseases at NSW Health, Vicky Sheppeard, said three people had been in contact with the most recent horse to die but their risk of contracting the virus was negligible to low.

Rockhampton vet Alister Rodgers died from the virus in 2009, Brisbane vet Ben Cunneen in 2008, Mackay cane farmer Mark Preston in 1995, and horse trainer Vic Rail in 1994.

In Queensland's fourth case of Hendra this year, an unvaccinated horse was put down on Friday in the Gold Coast hinterland after falling ill with the virus.

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