THE DEATH toll from this week’s flash flooding in Queensland rose to 10 last night, with 78 people still listed as missing. The latest death was that of a four-year-old boy.
State premier Anna Bligh fears the toll will rise.
“We continue to hold very grave fears for the people who are missing,” she said. “To everyone who has lost a loved one, you are in our thoughts and the thoughts of all Queenslanders and Australians.”
Three-quarters of the vast state has been declared a disaster zone.
“The declaration of a disaster situation gives our police and emergency personnel authority to evacuate members of the public as necessary to ensure the preservation of life and property,” the premier said.
As the authorities continued to battle the deluge in Toowoomba – where nine people died on Monday – the state capital, Brisbane, with a population of two million, and the nearby town of Ipswich are now facing a catastrophic flood peak.
There were traffic jams yesterday as people left city centre jobs early to do what they could to secure their homes.
Brisbane City Council said 6,500 homes and businesses across 80 suburbs would be flooded in the coming days and a further 16,000 properties would be partially affected.
Shop owners reported panic buying.
“Trade today has been . . . very, very high and retailers are doing all they can, as usual, to make sure their shelves remain stocked and that demand is met,” said Scott Driscoll of the United Retail Federation. “Consumers need to remain calm. They need to do what they would naturally do at this time to ensure they have the essentials to get them through the next 48 hours.”
One-third of Ipswich is expected to go under water within days, while 100,000 homes in the region will be without power today. The Brisbane river, which curves around much of the city centre, will continue to rise until at least tomorrow.
“Ipswich and Brisbane are now facing their greatest test and toughest threat in 35 years,” Ms Bligh added.
“We will only pass this test if we are calm, if we are patient with each other . . . and if we listen carefully to the instructions we are being given. Now is not a time for panic, now is the time for us to stick together.”
The Brisbane river is predicted to reach 4.5 metres today and by tomorrow, is expected to rise above the 1974 flood peak of 5.45 metres. Fourteen people died in the 1974 floods.
Black Hawk army helicopters evacuated the town of Forest Hill (population 300), 67km west of Brisbane, yesterday, after it was swamped by rapidly rising waters. However some areas remain completely isolated.
The township of Murphys Creek was still too dangerous for emergency crews to enter yesterday.
Queensland’s deputy police commissioner Ian Stewart said he did not know how many had died there. “We have had to hold back our staff,” he said. “The creek is still flooding in that area. It is very high-risk for our people.”