Nine killed, over 60 missing in Australian floods

MELBOURNE - At least nine people were killed and over 60 others missing as flash floods swept through southeastern Queensland state of Australia, authorities said Tuesday. Prime Minister Julia Gillard warned the nation to brace for a rising toll from the deluge.

A total of nine deaths have been confirmed from Queensland’s flash floods and the toll could get to more than double, Queensland premier Anna Bligh was quoted as saying by the Herald Sun.

Residents in low lying areas of the Lockyer Valley and Brisbane are being urged to leave their homes as more heavy storms sweep the region.

“We continue to hold very grave fears for the people who are missing,” Bligh said. The number for the missing has been revised down to 66, she said.

Earlier Tuesday a sombre Julia Gillard warned the nation to brace for a rising toll. As heavy rain continued to hamper rescue efforts, Gillard warned that the death toll would inevitably increase with 72 people still unaccounted for.

“The nation does need to brace itself for the fact that the toll as a result of Monday’s flash flooding and walls of water is likely to rise,” she told a press conference in Canberra.

“With flood waters so dangerous and moving so swiftly, we do need to brace ourselves for the likelihood of further bad news.”

“We have helicopters - Blackhawks and Sea Kings - in the air working hand in glove with the Queensland emergency personnel on search and rescue efforts,” Gillard said.

Bligh said Toowoomba, the badly hit city located 127 km west of Queensland’s capital Brisbane, was facing a grim and desperate situation, with search and rescue efforts being hampered by poor weather conditions.

Bligh said areas that included Warwick, Condamine, Brisbane and Ipswich could face flooding later Tuesday.

Flood waters Tuesday afternoon began rising in Brisbane’s inner west, with residents urged to move to higher ground.

The weather bureau has also issued a string of warnings for Queensland residents, including in the southeast and in the Lockyer and Brisbane valleys.

People cowered on their roofs pleading to be rescued as the water engulfed homes, the daily said.

The full scale of the disaster was unclear Monday night with communications cut as authorities worked frantically to rescue people in areas pummelled by the waters.

Toowoomba, with an elevation of almost 700 metres above sea level, has been in constant drought over recent years and is not prone to flooding.