Australia's Brisbane avoids worst flood fears

Ed Davies - 

Flood water in Australia's third-biggest city peaked below feared catastrophic levels on Thursday but Brisbane and other devastated regions faced years of rebuilding and even the threat of fresh floods in the weeks ahead.

The capital of Queensland state resembled a muddy lake, with an entire waterfront cafe among the debris washed down the Brisbane River, a torrent that has flooded 12,000 homes and left more than 100,000 homes and businesses without power.

"This morning as I look across not only the capital city, but three-quarters of my state, we are facing a reconstruction effort of post-war proportions," Queensland Premier Anna Bligh said from the city of two million people.

"This is going to be a long recovery," she told a radio station.

Insurers face a huge bill, with some economists expecting A$6 billion (£3.8 billion) in damage from the floods that began last month in Queensland, a mining state, crippling the coking coal industry and destroying roads, railways and bridges as they flowed south.

The floods have killed at least 17 people and 70 are missing, according to revised figures.

But the water peaked at almost a metre below the level of deadly 1974 floods in Brisbane.

Despite that, many of the city's factories and homes had only rooflines visible as residents, many evacuated to safety, woke to bright sunshine. Hundreds of onlookers gathered above the river to see the devastation at first light.

The swollen Brisbane River was choked with debris after bursting its banks and engulfing large districts of the city the previous day. Power has been cut to areas in and around the city because of worry the waters could cause electrocutions.

Boats and river pontoons torn adrift by the deluge lay piled on river banks as the roiling brown water raced past.

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Photo Tim Wimborne

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