Brisbane, Australia (CNN) -- Rescuers
searching for dozens of people missing in
floodwater west of Brisbane, Australia, have
found another body, taking the death toll from
recent torrential rain to nine.
Fifty-nine people remain missing after a wall of
water swept through the town of Toowoomba,
about 125 kilometers (80 miles) west of Brisbane,
on Monday afternoon, overturning cars and
swamping homes with little warning
By late Tuesday, three quarters of Queensland
had been declared a disaster zone as the rain
continued to fall and overwhelm creeks and
rivers in the state's south-east.
iReport: Are you there? Share your photos, video
The Brisbane River, which runs through the
capital, broke its banks as residents were warned
to brace themselves for the worst flooding since
1974.
More than 6,500 homes were at
risk of flooding in the next two
days, according to forecasts issued
by Brisbane City Council.
People in low-lying areas of the city
were being urged to move to
higher ground Tuesday, and
residents were being offered
sandbags to protect their property
against potential damage.
An evacuation center has been set
up in the city center to house
people forced to abandon their
homes.
In January 1974, 14 people died
after the Brisbane River burst its
banks after three weeks of heavy
rain, flooding more than 6,000
homes.
"This flood event continues to
develop and change at a frightening
pace," Queensland Premier Anna
Bligh told reporters Tuesday.
"As more rain continues to fall,
local and state-level disaster management
personnel are working to ensure the
preparedness and safety of the community," she
said.
Monday's disaster in Toowoomba was being
described as an unprecedented event, where
residents received little or no warning of the wall
of water racing towards them.
Amateur video showed a fast-flowing brown
river of water tossing cars down the main street.
Four of the nine victims were children who were
trapped inside cars with their mothers.
"It was almost like a movie scene - I went to a car
park, it's a council car park - and we had cars
stacked on top of each other," Toowoomba
regional councillor Joe Ramia told national
broadcaster, ABC.
Source: Http://edition.cnn.com/2011/WORLD/asiapcf/01/11/australia.floods/
searching for dozens of people missing in
floodwater west of Brisbane, Australia, have
found another body, taking the death toll from
recent torrential rain to nine.
Fifty-nine people remain missing after a wall of
water swept through the town of Toowoomba,
about 125 kilometers (80 miles) west of Brisbane,
on Monday afternoon, overturning cars and
swamping homes with little warning
By late Tuesday, three quarters of Queensland
had been declared a disaster zone as the rain
continued to fall and overwhelm creeks and
rivers in the state's south-east.
iReport: Are you there? Share your photos, video
The Brisbane River, which runs through the
capital, broke its banks as residents were warned
to brace themselves for the worst flooding since
1974.
More than 6,500 homes were at
risk of flooding in the next two
days, according to forecasts issued
by Brisbane City Council.
People in low-lying areas of the city
were being urged to move to
higher ground Tuesday, and
residents were being offered
sandbags to protect their property
against potential damage.
An evacuation center has been set
up in the city center to house
people forced to abandon their
homes.
In January 1974, 14 people died
after the Brisbane River burst its
banks after three weeks of heavy
rain, flooding more than 6,000
homes.
"This flood event continues to
develop and change at a frightening
pace," Queensland Premier Anna
Bligh told reporters Tuesday.
"As more rain continues to fall,
local and state-level disaster management
personnel are working to ensure the
preparedness and safety of the community," she
said.
Monday's disaster in Toowoomba was being
described as an unprecedented event, where
residents received little or no warning of the wall
of water racing towards them.
Amateur video showed a fast-flowing brown
river of water tossing cars down the main street.
Four of the nine victims were children who were
trapped inside cars with their mothers.
"It was almost like a movie scene - I went to a car
park, it's a council car park - and we had cars
stacked on top of each other," Toowoomba
regional councillor Joe Ramia told national
broadcaster, ABC.
Source: Http://edition.cnn.com/2011/WORLD/asiapcf/01/11/australia.floods/
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