Brisbane is bracing for a high tide this afternoon as thousands evacuate due to flooding in Queensland that has left 10 dead and another 90 missing.
The latest confirmed victim was a four-year-old boy, swept away near Ipswich, south-west of Brisbane.
The Bremer River, which passes through Ipswich, is expected
to reach 21.5m metres this morning.
Ipswich Mayor Paul Pisasale told ABC Radio Queensland the situation in the city was "drastic".
"All you can see of [supermarket] Coles is a roof with 'Coles' on it," he said.
The Brisbane River is also continuing to flow quickly after bursting its banks yesterday.
Rising waters entered Brisbane suburbs late yesterday, and authorities warned that that Australia's third-largest city faced potentially disastrous floods when a 4.5m high tide hits about 3pm local time today (6pm NZT).
Tomorrow's high tide is expected to take the river to 5.5m - above the levels of a catastrophic flood in 1974 in which 14 people died.
Residents have been urged not to drive, to conserve drinking water and to prepare for power cuts to large areas of Brisbane and Ipswich.
Brisbane's Lord Mayor Campbell Newman told ABC Radio this morning that homes in low lying areas of the city would be entirely underwater by tomorrow afternoon. Authorities expected about 15,000 people to be affected, he said.
The city is protected by a large dam built after the 1974 floods. But Mr Newman said the reservoir was full, and a water release that would cause low-level flooding was inevitable.
Brisbane evacuations
He said 1,200 streets in the city had so far been affected by the floods and around 2,100 were expected to be flooded by tomorrow afternoon.
Some 19,700 residential properties and more than 3,000 commercial properties were likely to end up covered in water, he said.
A second evacuation centre opened in Brisbane at the QEII Stadium this morning, adding to the emergency accommodation provided at the RNA Showgrounds. 150 people stayed the night at the showgrounds last night.
The two centres can accommodate 6,500 people.
Mr Newman said the council would review the situation to see whether further evacuation centres would need to be opened but recommended those people self-evacuating to stay with friends and family if possible.
90 missing
Queensland Premier Anna Bligh said authorities held grave concerns for 18 of 90 people missing in the floodwaters that have surged down the Great Dividing Range and across the Lockyer Valley, isolating entire towns.
Many of those missing are in the city of Toowomba, 130km west of Brisbane, which was yesterday hit by an "inland tsunami" of flash flooding after a superstorm dumped 150mm of rain in 30 minutes.
Ms Bligh said the number of people unaccounted for in the Toowoomba area had risen after police took more missing persons reports overnight.
"The police now are searching for more than 90 people. These are people who their families can no longer contact or find them," she told the Nine Network's Today program.
Grave fears are held for dozens of people reported missing, especially in the Lockyer Valley communities of Murphys Creek and Grantham.
"It is expected we will find further persons deceased in those areas," state disaster co-ordinator Deputy Police Commissioner Ian Stewart said.
"The number we just don't know at this stage."
Flooding submerges towns
Towns are submerged by waters that have tumbled cars down streets, smashed houses off their foundations and swept people to their deaths.
Others have survived by clinging to trees or clambering onto the roofs of their homes.
Towns now under water include Gympie and Dalby - for the second time in a month - and Cherbourg and Murgon are cut off.
In the small community of Forest Hill, the entire population of about 300 was being airlifted to safety in military helicopters, Ms Bligh said.
200,000 affected by flooding
Queensland has been battling floods since late November which have so far left 20 people dead - including the 10 confirmed killed in this week's flash flooding.
The floods have affected more than 200,000 people.
Relentless storms and rain have grounded helicopters and specialist rescue teams and hindered clean-up work in areas where floodwaters have receded. Medical authorities are warning of disease.
Australian Prime Minister Julia Gillard said she had been shocked by images of devastating in the flood-hit areas.
"I think we've all been shocked by the images of that wall of water just wreaking such devastation (in Toowoomba) and I agree with you that when we hear the statistics about how many homes are going to be hit in Ipswich and here in Brisbane, the dimensions of it are truly mind-boggling," Ms Gillard said.
"We are bracing for further bad news," she said.
She promised financial aid to the victims and said the defence forces would continue to help with the crisis.
A spokesman for Prime Minister John Key yesterday said the thoughts of the New Zealand Government went out to the families of the flooding victims.
He said Mr Key was following the situation closely and had asked officials for advice on what further assistance New Zealand could offer.
The Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade was in touch with Australian officials, he said.
Dramatic video of rescue
In Toowomba yesterday bystanders watched in horror as a woman only centimetres from her rescuer lost her grip on a power pole and disappeared under a torrent of dirty water during flash floods.
Moments later, they breathed sighs of relief as a Queensland Fire and Rescue Service worker swam after her and hauled her to safety.
Nev Madsen, 49, a photographer for Toowoomba newspaper the Chronicle, saw the drama from the second level of the carpark at a nearby shopping centre.
In video shot by Madsen, police and rescue staff can be seen standing in thigh-deep water as they talk on cellphones and work to rescue others.
Cars are carried off by the heavy river flow and the water tank is seen crashing into the pedestrian bridge.
Rescuers from the Queensland Fire and Rescue Service, who have been trained for swift water recovery, work with ropes to haul people to safety.
- With AP, NEWSTALK ZB
