Tuesday, January 11, 2011

8 die, 72 missing in Australia flash floods

BRISBANE, Australia — Rescuers raced Tuesday to reach people trapped on roofs after a flash flood sent a massive wall of water through a valley in Australia's waterlogged east, tossing cars like toys, killing at least eight people and leaving 72 missing, officials said.

The sudden surge near the town of Toowoomba after a storm Monday lifted Australia's 2-week-old flood crisis in Queensland state to a new level and brought the overall death toll to 18. Until then, the flooding had unfolded slowly as swollen rivers burst their banks and inundated towns while moving downstream toward the ocean.

Emergency services officers plucked more than 40 people from houses isolated overnight by the torrent that hit the Lockyer Valley on Monday, thunderstorms and more driving rain hampered efforts to send helicopters to help an unknown number of other people still in danger Tuesday.

If you like to read the whole story click: msnbc.com

CBD exodus as Brisbane flood threat grows

Authorities have called for calm as Brisbane's roads clog up with workers seeking to flee the city while the Brisbane River breaches its banks at multiple locations.

Today, Lord Mayor Campbell Newman warned the worst of the flooding was yet to come, with Thursday likely to be ‘‘devastating’’.

Cr Newman said latest flood modelling suggested 6500 properties could be inundated, with 16,500 to be partially affected.

If you like to read the whole story click: Brisbane Times

City empties as Brisbane River breaks banks

Brisbane's inner-city workers are emptying the capital as floodwaters begin to break the banks of the Brisbane River, with over 6000 properties expected to go under when it peaks on Thursday.

The CBD has not been officially evacuated but workers are heading home as the city faces its worst flooding since 1974, when 6700 homes were flooded.

This follows flash flooding in Toowoomba and surrounding areas yesterday which has left at least nine people dead and 66 unaccounted for. (Read more: How the flood hit)

If you like to read the whole article click: Nine News

For further updates about this weather exsperience click: