Australian floods: Brisbane homes evacuated as crisis escalates.

The devastating Queensland floods that have
claimed at least nine lives in the past 24 hours and
left more than 60 people missing have hit the
state's capital Brisbane, where thousands of
residents have been warned to evacuate their
homes.
There were fears that the extent of the flooding
could exceed the levels of the 1974 flood, which
killed 14 people and inundated more than 6,700
homes.
The emergency escalated quickly during the day,
with more than 30 low-lying suburbs on high
alert and inner-city suburbs including West End
and Fortitude Valley being evacuated.
As the Brisbane River breached its banks in
several place to engulf parks and footbridges and
heavy rain continued to fall on the metropolitan
area, the city's main roads and public transport
system quickly became clogged as hundreds of
people rushed to get to higher ground.
Many high-rise buildings in the city centre were
evacuated and office workers were sent home
early as the city centre effectively shut down.
Early estimates suggested that more than 9,000
homes could be inundated when the Brisbane
River peaks at 12ft over the next two days.
Campbell Newman, the Brisbane mayor, said
6,500 homes and businesses could experience
seriously flooding.
By the afternoon, a disaster zone had been
declared for south-east Queensland, giving police
extra powers to force residents to evacuate if
necessary.
Brisbane, which is Australia's third largest city and
is home to two million people, was under siege
on four fronts, with runoff from the flash flooding
in the Lockyer Valley, large volumes of water
running down the Brisbane River, a king tide and
heavy rain combining to create what Julia Gillard,
the prime minister, called "a very dire situation".
The threat to Brisbane comes after an inland
tsunami swept through Toowoomba, 77 miles to
the west of the Queensland capital, on Monday.
Among the dead were four children and entire
families were among the missing.
Outside Brisbane, towns to the west and north
were isolated by the floodwaters and rescue
efforts were being hampered by continuing bad
weather. About 300 people were being airlifted
from the Lockyer Valley town of Forest Hill and
the outlook was poor for the town of Ipswich,
where water was rising, affecting 400 streets.
Ms Gillard has said the events unfolding in
Queensland were shocking and warned the
nation to brace for the death toll to rise.
She fielded questions about whether the region
had been properly prepared for the deluge. But
government meteorologists have said that the
flash flooding was almost impossible to predict.
Anna Bligh, the premier of Queensland, fought
back tears as she described the events as "our
darkest hour".
"The flood crisis has deepened seriously over the
past several hours," she said.
"This weather may be breaking our hearts but it
will not break our will."
Ms Bligh warned that the entire city of Brisbane
would be affected with workplaces and shopping
centres closed. She urged residents to stay off the
roads unless absolutely necessary and warned
that the death toll could double.
"We are facing one of our toughest ever tests...
now is not a time to panic, it is a time to stick
together," she said.
As the flooding sweeps across southeast
Queensland, bushfires are raging in Western
Australia, threatening scores of properties.


Source: Http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/australiaandthepacific/australia/8251726/Australian-floods-Brisbane-evacuated-as-crisis-threatens-thousands-of-homes.html