Brisbane Wakes Up to Good News, Long Road Ahead

Brisbane devastated as Australia watches floods advance
BRISBANE residents were waiting yesterday for flood- waters to recede and reveal the extent of devastation to Australia's third-largest city, while Soldiers picked their way through the debris of flood-ravaged towns looking for Victims from one of the country's worst Natural Disasters. • The swollen Brisbane river and the skyline of the city where 30,000 homes and businesses were swamped by floodwater. Below: A man paddles to safety. Picture: Getty The slow-motion inundation of Brisbane ove...

'Heartache and grief': Australia sees flood damage
BRISBANE, Australia - Parts of Australia's third-largest city reopened Friday as deadly floodwaters that had swamped entire neighborhoods receded, revealing streets and thousands of homes covered in a thick layer of putrid sludge. Garbage trucks moved through Brisbane's muddy streets and some residents dragged ruined furniture out of their homes as the massive cleanup began following one of Australia's worst Natural Disasters. In towns upstream of Brisbane, Soldiers picked their way throug...

Australia floods recede to reveal extent of damage
POSTMANS RIDGE, Australia (AP) — Residents began a long wait Thursday for floodwaters to subside and reveal the extent of devastation to Australia's third-largest city, while upstream Soldiers picked their way through the debris of washed-away towns looking for more Victims from one of the country's worst Natural Disasters. The waters left behind tractor-trailers snapped in half, concrete slabs where houses used to be and a car hanging from a tree. The slow-motion inundation of Brisbane ove...

Flooded Australia city "like war zone"
The floods across the state of Queensland have killed at least 19 people, 12 of whom died in the Toowoomba area inland, and 61 were missing, the State Government said. Toowoomba and the Lockyer Valley region, west of state capital Brisbane, were devastated by Tsunami-like flash Flooding on Monday. Large parts of Brisbane have become muddy lakes, with an entire waterfront cafe among the debris washing down the Brisbane River, a torrent that has flooded 12,000 homes in the city of 2 million and l...

Brisbane flood clean-up starts as damage emerges
The full horror of the devastation wrought by floods in Brisbane emerged Friday as waters drained from the swamped Australian city but barrelled on towards small towns downstream. Residents of the country's third-largest city nervously returned to see what remained of their homes and businesses as the muddy brown waters that had covered buildings up to their roofs dropped to reveal their terrible handiwork. "There is a lot of heartache and grief as people start to see for the first time what has...

Australian floods: Clean-up begins in Brisbane
Former Australian Prime Minister Kevin Rudd helps residents to clean up in Brisbane after floodwaters recede. Photograph: Eddie Safarik/AFP/Getty Images Regions of Queensland have begun re-emerging from the floodwaters, as Brisbane started a mass clean-up following the deluge that has swamped thousands of homes over the past few days. As the water receded, putrid mud and debris was left covering much of the city, and many were tentatively returning to their homes to survey the damage followi...

Queensland premier says rebuild will need post-war effort
The task of rebuilding communities in Queensland submerged by floodwaters would reach that of "post-war proportions", the state's premier warned today, as the Brisbane river continued to surge through the city, and the death toll rose to 15, with around 60 still missing. The Queensland premier, Anna Bligh, referred to the flood crisis in Australia as the worst Natural Disaster the state had experienced and warned that clean-up and rebuilding costs could reach an estimated A$5bn (£3.1bn). "Q...

Floods turn major Australian city into ghost town
A vehicle is swept away in floodwaters in South East Queensland, Wednesday, Jan. 12, 2011. Deadly floodwaters flowed onto the streets in Australia's northeastern state of Queensland since drenching rains that began in November sent swollen rivers spilling over their banks, inundating an area larger than France and Germany combined. Residents of Australia's third-largest city woke Thursday to find their community submerged in muddy water after floodwaters pouring through streets reached their cr...

Brisbane a 'war zone' as huge flood smashes city
Australia's third-largest city Brisbane was turned into a "war zone" Thursday with whole suburbs under water and infrastructure smashed as the worst flood in decades hit 30,000 properties. Shocked evacuees surveyed the damage after floods that have swept eastern Australia peaked about a metre (three feet) below feared levels around dawn, sparing thousands more properties in the besieged river city. Queensland's tearful state premier Anna Bligh said relief was tinged with despair at the damage to...

Brisbane a 'war zone' as huge flood smashes city
Australia's third-largest city Brisbane resembled a "war zone" Thursday with whole suburbs under water and infrastructure smashed as the worst flood in decades hit 30,000 properties. Shocked evacuees surveyed the damage after floods that have swept eastern Australia peaked about a metre (three feet) below feared levels around dawn, sparing thousands more properties in the besieged river city. Queensland's tearful state premier Anna Bligh said relief was tinged with despair at the damage to homes...

Brisbane a 'war zone' as huge flood smashes city
Australia's third-largest city Brisbane was turned into a "war zone" Thursday with whole suburbs under water and infrastructure smashed as the worst flood in decades hit 30,000 properties. Shocked evacuees surveyed the damage after floods that have swept eastern Australia peaked about a metre (three feet) below feared levels around dawn, sparing thousands more properties in the besieged river city. Queensland's tearful state premier Anna Bligh said relief was tinged with despair at the damage to...

Brisbane flood peaks - thousands of homes swamped
(01-13) 04:00 PST Brisbane, Australia -- Floodwaters washing through Australia's third-largest city crested today just shy of record levels but high enough to submerge entire neighborhoods and cause damage one official likened to the aftermath of war. One man died in Brisbane after being sucked into a storm drain by the Muddy Waters, Queensland state Premier Anna Bligh said. Thousands of homes were swamped, and officials told residents it will be days before many of them can return to their h...

Australia faces rebuild of 'postwar proportions'
BRISBANE, Australia — Deadly floodwaters began to recede Thursday from the devastated streets of Australia's third-largest city, but officials warned residents "now face a reconstruction task of postwar proportions." It could be days before people can return to thousands of swamped homes and businesses, the officials added. One man died in Brisbane after being sucked into a storm drain by the Muddy Waters, said Queensland state Premier Anna Bligh. The discovery, plus two other bodie...

Floods Queensland's 'worst ever'
Brisbane residents have taken to their flooded streets in canoes. Queensland Premier Anna Bligh says the state is reeling from the worst Natural Disaster in its history, after floods left swathes of it under water. Powerful flood waters have surged through the state capital, Brisbane, leaving thousands of homes submerged. The floods peaked at a lower level than expected but 30 suburbs are under water. Huge amounts of debris - cars, boats and jetties - have been floating downstream, some smash...

Flood cleanup costs 'post-war proportion'
BRISBANE, Australia, Jan. 13 (UPI) -- Rebuilding communities in Australia's Queensland ravaged by Flooding likely will reach "post-war proportion," the state's premier said Thursday. The floods -- which have turned an area twice the size of Texas into a disaster zone -- have killed at least 23 people and left 75 missing. Officials said they have grave fears about the many people reported missing in the Lockyer valley and Toowoomba, The Guardian reported. There are reports of dead livestock and d...

Brisbane begins floods clean-up
Australia's third largest city, Brisbane, has begun to clean up mud and debris in some areas, as floodwaters begin to recede. As levels fall, residents are starting to see the full scale of the damage. At least 30,000 properties in the city have been swamped. Meteorologists have warned that the threat of further cyclones remains. Floods have surged through Queensland since last month, killing at least 19 people and displacing thousands more. Where waters have receded in the city centre, res...

Australia flood clean-up starts, tough task ahead
By Ed Davies BRISBANE, Australia | Fri Jan 14, 2011 1:37am EST BRISBANE, Australia (Reuters) - Australia's third-largest city started cleaning up stinking mud and debris on Friday after some of the country's worst floods on record, but in a sign of the task ahead, it could take six months to pump flood waters out of Queensland's Coal Mines. Many suburbs in the state's capital Brisbane, a city of two million people, remained submerged after floodwaters inundated the riverside city on Thursday....

Australia rebuilding task 'of postwar proportions'
BRISBANE, Australia - Floodwaters washing through Australia's third-largest city crested Thursday just shy of levels residents had feared most but high enough to submerge entire neighborhoods and cause damage one official likened to the aftermath of war. One man died in Brisbane after being sucked into a storm drain by the Muddy Waters, Queensland state Premier Anna Bligh said. Thousands of homes were swamped, and officials told residents it will be days before many of them can return to t...

Australia's Brisbane a 'war zone' as flood peaks
Australia's third-largest city Brisbane awoke to a "war zone" Thursday with whole suburbs under water and infrastructure smashed as the worst flood in decades caused wide destruction. Frightened evacuees surveyed the damage after floods that have swept eastern Australia peaked about a metre (three feet) below feared levels around dawn, sparing thousands of properties in the besieged river city. State premier Anna Bligh said relief was tinged with despair at the damage to homes and major city lan...

Australia's floods cut off some Brisbane residents, and water keeps rising
Reporting from Sydney, Australia — Many Brisbane residents awoke Wednesday to find themselves surrounded by floodwaters swelling ever higher from weeks of rain in Queensland state, and authorities warned people who had not evacuated to get out if they still could. Thousands had already fled to Evacuation centers around the city. At least 20,000 homes and thousands of other buildings were expected to be inundated by Thursday morning, when the Brisbane River could approach a record crest ...

Floods hit Brisbane, Australias 3rd-largest city
BRISBANE, Australia (AP) — For weeks, the Flooding in eastern Australia has been a slow-motion disaster, with drenching rain devastating wide swaths of farmland and small towns. Now, rivers are rising in Brisbane, the country’s third-largest city, forcing people to flee both suburbs and Skyscrapers. Flooding that has unfolded since late November across the waterlogged state of Queensland turned suddenly violent Monday, with a cloudburst sending a raging torrent down the Lockyer Valle...

Much of Brisbane underwater
BRISBANE, Australia, Jan. 12 (UPI) -- The Brisbane River crested in Queensland's capital Wednesday afternoon, putting much of the area underwater as Flooding continues in northeastern Australia. The river was expected to reach another crest at about 4 a.m. Thursday, the Australian Broadcasting Corp. reported. At that point, as many as 20,000 homes could be flooded. At least 12 flood-related deaths have been confirmed. Officials said 67 people were missing in the Lockyer Valley, west of Brisbane....

Australia Floods Hit Brisbane; 67 People Missing
Like this Story? Share it: CBS News Raw: Australian police have launched a major search and rescue operation after devastating Flash Floods killed 10 people and left 78 missing. Floods across the country have killed 20 to date. Debris and an overturned car are seen in central Toowoomba following a flash flood, Jan. 10, 2011 in Toowoomba, Australia. (Getty Images) Learn about the people, economy and history. (AP) BRISBANE - Deadly floodwaters that have cut a swath across northeastern Australia f...

Australian Floods Damage Crops; More Rains Forecast
© AP Photo/NASA In this image provided by NASA taken on Jan. 7, 2010, the Advanced Spaceborne Thermal Emission and Reflection Radiometer instrument on NASA's Terra Spacecraft captured this image of the inundated city of Rockhampton, Queensland, Australia. For Australia, La Ni?a typically means above-average rains, and the current La Ni?a is no exception. Heavy Rains that began in late December led to the continent's worst Flooding in nearly a half century, at its peak inundating an area t...

Australian floods: At least 9 killed, dozens missing, capital threatened
Reporting from Sydney, Australia — At least nine people were killed and dozens more remained missing after Flash Floods swept through the central shopping strip of the town of Toowoomba in rain-saturated Queensland state this week. Meanwhile, a dam built to protect the capital city of Brisbane from similar disasters had filled to the point where authorities were forced to release large amounts of water to prevent it from collapsing. At least 6,500 properties were expected to be flooded ...