http://www.abc.net.au/news/2013-01-29/live-flooding-disaster-hits-australias-east-coast/4488032
Live: Flooding disaster hits Australia's east coast
Updated 14 minutes ago
Floodwaters in Bundaberg are still rising slowly, with more than 7,000 people unable to return to their homes.
Widespread flooding continues to be felt across Australia's east coast, and in Grafton residents are waiting anxiously to see if the swollen Clarence River breaks the town's flood levee.
Overnight, the death toll from the unfolding flood crisis rose to four, with a three-year-old boy dying in Brisbane after suffering head injuries when a tree fell on him on Monday morning.
The key points this morning:
Bundaberg remains in the grip of a record flood, with 7,500 people displaced.
Grafton's levee is holding back a record 8.1m Clarence River flood.
This morning's Brisbane flood peak has not been as bad as expected.
Residents in the greater Brisbane area are told to conserve water.
The flood peak in Ipswich came in lower than forecast last night.
Emergency links
QLD: Weather warnings |
Emergency Management Queensland |
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State Emergency Service
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For help during a flood or storm call the SES on 132 500;
for life-threatening emergencies call 000
Follow our live blog for the latest coverage (All times in Brisbane time AEST):
2:47pm:
Queensland Police say a flooding emergency has been declared in Alberton near Beenleigh and is likely to experience inundation throughout today.
Residents are urged to warn neighbours, secure belongings and prepare to leave if necessary.
Anyone that requires assistance is urged to contact the SES on 132 500.
2:27pm:
Prime Minister Julia Gillard and NSW Premier Barry O'Farrell have announced that 10 flood-stricken local government areas in northern NSW will be able to access jointly funded disaster assistance.
Residents, small business owners and farmers in shires including Ballina, Bellingen, Coffs Harbour,Lismore, and Clarence Valley will be eligible for the funds.
2:06pm:
Queensland Premier Campbell Newman holds a press conference to provide an update on the latest flood developments.
He says the Burnett River is expected to peak in Bundaberg around now at 9.6 metres.
That means about 2,000 homes and 200 businesses would be flood-affected.
Mr Newman also repeats earlier advice that the muddy nature of the floodwaters in the Brisbane area have seen officials ask that residents conserve water.
He says Brisbane is currently drawing water from Gold Coast and Sunshine Coast reserves.
The Premier warned that some Brisbane reservoirs could dry up overnight if people did not limit their usage to around 150 litres per day.
"The normal consumption of water across the greater Brisbane area is around 450 megalitres per day, and right now, and this is the issue, we can only probably produce and supply around about half that.
"We'd like you to only use water for cooking, for drinking, for washing, showering and bathing and to completely cease using water for topping up pools, washing down driveways, cleaning boats and cars for the next couple of days or until further notice."
Mr Newman says restrictions do not apply to people cleaning up flood damage.
PHOTO: A CityCat terminal at West End on the Brisbane River is submerged by floodwater at high tide....
2:04pm:
The Insurance Council of Australia says it has teams of assessors ready to move into flood-stricken parts of New South Wales.
It has declared catastrophe zones for the Tweed and Northern Rivers regions, as well as coastal areas from the Queensland border to the Illawarra.
AUDIO: Campbell Fuller speaks to The World Today(The World Today)
Council spokesman Campbell Fuller says until now the industry has mainly been focused on Queensland, but it is expecting a rising number of claims from NSW residents.
"Claims are trickling in from northern New South Wales, they're at modest levels at the moment.
"We are of course still seeing rivers rising in many areas and we expect that the number of claims will increase over the next 24 to 48 hours."
1:58pm:
The Queensland Police Media Unit has tweeted:
@QPSmedia Extra police are patrolling Bundaberg to ensure the safety of businesses and residential p...
1:45pm:
Grafton residents in northern New South Wales are breathing a sigh of relief as the town's flood levee appears to be holding floodwater from the swollen Clarence River.
The river has peaked above normal levels and is just below the levee.
Clarence Valley mayor Richie Williamson has told The World Today program that he was confident Grafton had the infrastructure to withstand the pressu...
AUDIO: Listen to the story (The World Today)
"We have never seen heights at this level before since records were first taken in 1839.
"The levee systems are holding, I am told that the levee systems are doing their job perfectly, although it is touch and go with regards to levels this afternoon.
"The engineers, when they designed the levee system around Grafton, designed it to slowly breach in a location.
"The flood engineers tell me that what you don't want is all levees breaching at the same time."
The latest flood warning from the weather bureau can be viewed here
1:27pm:
The ABC's Eric Tlozek has filed this report from Gympie, where residents are cleaning up as water le...
VIDEO: Gympie springs into clean-up mode (ABC News)
1:14pm:
Queensland's Water Supply Minister, Mark McArdle, is asking people in Brisbane to conserve and limit their water use.
The Mount Crosby water treatment facility is currently offline after becoming clogged with muddy floodwater.
It will take days to fix.
Mr McArdle says people in the Brisbane, Logan, Ipswich, Redlands, Moreton Bay, Lockyer, Somerset and Scenic Rim council areas need to limit their water use for the next 24 to 48 hours.
1:07pm:
Retailers including supermarket chains Woolworths and Coles are struggling to re-open or re-stock their stores in flood-affected parts of Queensland and New South Wales.
Michael Batycki, the Queensland operations manager for Woolworths, says operations have been seriously disrupted because of flooded stores, roads and railway lines.
"Yesterday we had some 20 stores that had the situation where power was cut and we had up to six stores closed at one stage.
"The most concerning stores at this stage of course are in the Maryborough and Bundaberg region, where we have two stores that are pretty much under water at the moment."
12:45pm:
A member of the Air Force describes how RAAF planes are helping to evacuate hospital patients fromBundaberg as the city's river reaches its predicted flood peak.
The Bureau of Meteorology says the Burnett River will peak at 9.6 metres this afternoon, slightly higher than the previous prediction of 9.5 metres.
VIDEO: Defence personnel 'excited' to be helping with evacuations (ABC News)
12:12pm: Authorities are preparing to release more water from Brisbane's Wivenhoe Dam after today's flood peak was lower than expected.
โ@612brisbane SEQ will start re-releasing water from Wivenhoe Dam later on today. More details to co...
12:02pm: PM Julia Gillard says she will be heading up to Queensland to meet flood victims later this week:
"I've had the opportunity to speak periodically to Premier Newman. I've been getting very, very regular briefings about what's happening. Deputy Prime Minister Wayne Swan's on the ground in Queensland and integrated into the efforts there and I will be coming to Queensland myself during the course of the week."
Ms Gillard says she's been made aware of the problems experienced with the triple-0 service over the weekend.
"We will follow up with Telstra about what happened here and what, if any, engineering solutions are available for the future.
"If there's a lesson that can be learned here about the future and how we can make sure triple-0 services are available in the future, then let's learn it and let's make sure it's in operation for the future."
12:00pm: It now looks like Brisbane's flood peak came in at about 2m so far, below predictions.
Photo: A pontoon floats on this morning's flood surge at South Bank.
read
Floodwaters in Bundaberg are still rising slowly, with more than 7,000 people unable to return to their homes.
Widespread flooding continues to be felt across Australia's east coast, and in Grafton residents are waiting anxiously to see if the swollen Clarence River breaks the town's flood levee.
read more; http://www.abc.net.au/news/2013-01-29/live-flooding-disaster-hits-australias-east-coast/4488032
