Several dead in Australia flash floods
February 26, 2022
At least six people have died in one of the worst flash floods in recent history in Australia's northeastern state of Queensland, officials said.
A 34-year-old man died overnight Sunday after his car submerged in flood waters, state police said.
Queensland premier Annastacia Palaszczuk told reporters they "never expected this rain." "The rain bomb is just really..unrelenting," she added.
More than 1400 homes in Brisbane, the capital of Queensland, were at risk of flooding, while thousands of other homes were without power.
More than 100 schools were to remain closed on Monday, Queensland's Department of Education said.
Concern raised Saturday
"In some parts of southeast Queensland, this is the biggest event that they will see in a number of decades," said Mark Ryan, Minister for Queensland Fire and Emergency Services.
More than 250 people have been moved to evacuation centers, while thousands of homes were without power.
Authorities issued 11 emergency alerts in the last 24 hours and responded to 1,800 distress calls. The storm is expected to persist through Sunday.
2 people killed overnight Saturday
One of the two people killed overnight Saturday, one was an emergency volunteer.
The volunteer died when flood waters swept away the emergency vehicle they were traveling in, state police disaster coordinator Steve Gollschewski told a news conference.
Three other emergency workers in the car were rescued, he added.
The second deceased person was retrieved from floodwaters in the city of Brisbane.
Weather officials had warned Australians about a major flood that would inundate streets and push waters in the state's major Mary river system beyond a level of
21.95 meters (72 feet) not seen since 1999.
"This is going to exceed an event that hasn't happened in at least 20 to 25 years," David Grant, forecaster at the Bureau of Meteorology, told reporters.
rm/nm (Reuters, AP)