The Queensland floods

No doubt this will be updated throughout the day as events unfold. Watch out for Brisbane again, (it was flooded 2 years ago)

Queensland flood crisis

People in south-east Queensland are waking up to assess the damage after two days of wild weather, as Brisbane braces itself for flooding

ABC,

28 January, 2013

Overnight the remains of ex-tropical cyclone Oswald battered the Gold Coast, with reports of roofs being torn off unit blocks.

The system is expected to continue contracting into northern NSW throughout the course of today, but rivers throughout the region are still rising.

Hundreds of homes and business around the region are already flooded and thousands more - including Brisbane suburbs which were inundated in 2011 - are on flood alert.

FEATURED UPDATE: 

Here are the key details this morning

• Emergency crews have carried out numerous swift water rescues overnight but some people are missing.

• Authorities are urging residents in parts of the Lockyer Valley west of Brisbane to evacuate due to rapidly rising floodwaters.

• Over 200,000 people in south-east Queensland are currently without power.

• In northern NSW, an estimated 1,300 people have been left isolated by flooding.

• The focus will turn to Brisbane and Ipswich today, with warnings that floodwaters could inundate up to 3,600 homes and 1,250 businesses in Brisbane.

• Queensland Premier Campbell Newman says the flooding will not be as severe as in 2011.

• Bremer River at Ipswich to peak at 14.45m about midnight on Monday, and again late Tuesday.

• Brisbane River to peak at 2.6m about noon on Tuesday, and again at noon on Wednesday.

• Flood maps are available from the Brisbane City Council website. The council's Facebook page has info on sandbag locations.

• Information about expected flooding in Ipswich is available on the council's website.

6:45am: The flood levels in Bundaberg are expected to surpass any peaks ever formally recorded.

Bundaberg Regional Council Mayor Mal Foreman says the floods will be "far worse" than 2011.

"[The flooding has] already exceeded the 1942 flood and we’re not far from the record flood of 1893 where it was 9 metres.

"The way the water is coming down, we may go over the nine metres - we don’t know yet."

Live coverage can be seen at the website of the ABC

9:12am: An exceptional amount of foam is washing across the esplanade at Alexandra Headland on Queensland's Sunshine Coast.

.

12:03pm

The Brisbane river is again breaking its banks along Eagle Street, creeping into restaurants.

Queensland's flood crisis deepens as death toll rises to three

QUEENSLAND was today in the grip of another extraordinary flood crisis, with three people dead, helicopters rescuing residents from roofs, and cities and towns facing inundation.

The Australian,

28 January, 2013

Dramatic rescues were underway in Bundaberg, where the city's worst flood on record left dozens of people trapped on rooftops.

At least 1200 Bundaberg properties were already flooded this morning, and there were fears that number could reach 2000.

The communities of Gympie and Maryborough were also being inundated following the torrential downpour caused by ex-tropical cyclone Oswald.

There is also a major flood crisis developing in the Lockyer Valley, where 19 lives were lost in the state's 2011 floods.

Brisbane and Ipswich are bracing for flooding expected tonight, with further flood peaks expected tomorrow and Wednesday.

As Oswald moves south, about 2000 people have been cut off by floodwaters in northern NSW, where heavy rain and winds of up to 140km/h are battering the region.

So far, three flood deaths have been confirmed - those of an 81-year-old man whose body was pulled from the water near Bundaberg, a 27-year-old man who tried to cross a flooded creek near Gympie, and a motorcyclist swept away trying to cross a bridge in the Oxley Creek south of Brisbane last night.

In Bundaberg, entire suburbs have been evacuated but some people waited too long and about 30 were stranded on rooftops in atrocious conditions prevented rescuers from reaching them.

Premier Campbell Newman said the situation in Bundaberg was “very serious” and six helicopters with winching capabilities were rescuing at least 30 people from rooftops.

“There is an expectation today of a major flood, probably the largest the city has ever seen,” Mr Newman said.

The Burnett River, which cuts Bundaberg in two, was at 8.9m at 7am today and rising rapidly