A helicopter rescues a family at Fairmead on the Burnett River downstream of Bundaberg. Pic: Paul Beutel Source: The Courier-Mail
- Toddler struck by tree becomes fourth victim
- Floods in Brisbane, storms in Sydney
- Fires in Victoria and WA
EXTREME weather across parts of Queensland and northern NSW has left at least four people dead and a damage bill likely to run into hundreds of millions of dollars.
A three-year-old boy who died in hospital after being hit by a tree became the latest tragic victim late last night.
The young boy and a 34-year-old woman suffered head injuries when a tree fell on them at Gordon Park, in Brisbane's north, early on Monday.
Shortly before 10pm, Queensland police released a statement saying he had died in Royal Brisbane Hospital.
Hundreds of emergency service workers are on standby across NSW as floodwaters rise.
Initial information suggests that the woman and three-year-old boy were standing on Kedron Brook bikeway when they were struck by the tree about 8.30am.
They were both taken to hospital in critical conditions.
Police will prepare a report for the coroner.
Volunteers and friends and family help move furniture from empty houses in Milton after ex cyclone Oswald passed over south east QLD. Picture: Lyndon Mechielsen
Hundreds were last night spending the night in evacuation centres across central and southern Queensland as floodwaters climbed towards record heights in some parts.
Emergency crews were working to rescue people isolated by the rising waters.
The widespread disaster, triggered by heavy rainfall and wind from ex-tropical cyclone Oswald, comes two years after floods devastated much of the same areas of the state, resulting in 35 deaths.
Flood and damage in the town of Laidley. Pic Peter Wallis
Queensland Premier Campbell Newman has attempted to reassure residents of the affected areas that the overall flooding won't be as severe as in 2011, but concedes that local flooding is worse in some parts of the state.
In the worst-affected city of Bundaberg in central Queensland, 14 aircraft were called upon to rescue 1500 stranded residents as authorities issued mandatory evacuation orders.
Army choppers equipped with night vision were being used to evacuate stranded residents into the evening.
At least 3 people are dead and countless others forced from their homes as floods devastate the South East Queensland
There were also plans to shift 130 patients from the local hospital, many of these to be airlifted to Brisbane.
Mr Newman said floodwaters moving at more than 70km/h in Bundaberg had the potential to wash away houses.
But with the disaster affecting most of central and southeast Queensland, he said the government had to be careful where it placed emergency resources.
Flood and damage in the town of Laidley. Pic Peter Wallis
"Once again, sadly Queensland is facing a major disaster crisis," the premier said.
"(But) this state and its people will rise to the challenge. Together we will get through this."
The disaster has already claimed three lives in Queensland - a motorcyclist whose body was pulled from a creek south of Brisbane, an 81-year-old man whose body was found near Bundaberg, and a 27-year-old man who tried to cross a flooded creek near Gympie.
The next 12 hours in Sydney will be critical as the downpour is predicted to worsen
Several other regional centres in central and southern Queensland are flooding or expecting significant floods, including Gympie, Maryborough, Warwick, Laidley and Rockhampton.
The cities of Brisbane and Ipswich in the southeast are also experiencing their own floods.
Queensland Treasurer Tim Nicholls estimates the damage bill will run into the hundreds of millions of dollars.
Prime Minister Julia Gillard and Premier Ted Baillieu inspect fire-ravaged farmland in Gippsland. Picture: Jake Nowakowski
"(The damage is) obviously going to be in the tens, and more likely the hundreds of millions of dollars," Mr Nicholls said.
"The damage is going to be as diverse as local schools and local community halls to major infrastructure."
The state government on Monday opened up disaster assistance funding to residents of 10 more Queensland regions, including those in Brisbane and Ipswich.
RAW FOOTAGE: Sections of the John Muntz Causeway in Queensland are completely submerged as the flooding continues.
The Insurance Council of Australia says $43 million worth of insurance claims had already been lodged.
In north Queensland, the storm still made its presence known, causing telecommunications to be knocked out for most of the day, leaving residents without mobile reception and working ATMs.
In NSW, torrential rain caused road and air chaos. Click here for latest from The Telegraph
About 2000 people were cut off in the state's drenched north, with about 850 people isolated at Ewingar, west of Lismore, and 400 at Darkwood, on the Bellinger River.
At 4.30pm flood warnings were in place for eight NSW river systems, the Bureau of Meteorology advised on its website.
In Lismore, the NSW State Emergency Service was doorknocking homes and 500 residents were being evacuated, with the Wilsons River at a height of 9.7 metres.
Meanwhile, in Grafton, more than 1500 people are expected to be evacuated on Tuesday as the Clarence River continues to rise.
At Bellingen, floods cut the town in half after a main bridge, Lavenders Bridge, went under water, with the Bellinger River tipped to reach 6.5 metres.Prime Minister Julia Gillard said the disaster was heartbreaking so soon after the deadly 2011 floods.
"Across Queensland the wild weather has broken a lot of hearts. It's a very tough period," she said, and repeated promises of federal help as the state recovers.
Mr Newman also set up the Queensland Flood Appeal on Monday, kicking it off with a $1 million state government donation.
In Victoria, milder weather has allowed firefighters to strengthen bushfire containment lines, as Ms Gillard visited fire-affected towns in the state's east.
A watch-and-act warning remains in place for a 1600-hectare fire burning on the southern side of Violet Town, about 170 kilometres north of Melbourne.
A state control centre spokesman said milder weather had reduced the fire and allowed firefighters to work on creating containment lines, with no immediate threat to towns.
"The fire condition has reduced due to moderate conditions," the spokesman said.
Shepparton Incident Control Centre public information officer Alex Caughey said six aircraft, 255 firefighters and 60 vehicles were working on the blaze in difficult terrain.
Firefighters were also working on two controlled fires at Harrietville near Mount Feathertop in the northeast, and another fire in Gippsland, to the southeast, that has already destroyed homes while burning through almost 70,000 hectares.
"We're trying to rest crews where we can with these milder conditions but still work on those containment lines to consolidate them," the state control centre spokesman said.
Ms Gillard and Victorian Premier Ted Baillieu on Monday visited the towns of Seaton and Heyfield, where the Gippsland bushfire destroyed more than 20 homes and claimed the life of an 84-year-old man earlier this month.
Ms Gillard urged communities to be prepared and vigilant.
"I've also been here, too, to say to this community that we are thinking of them," Ms Gillard told reporters.
"We are yet to face what could be the worst of the bushfire season. Often in Victoria the weather in February is at its hottest and most dangerous," she said.
Ms Gillard said the fire was not out but only contained.
"I'd be asking people here in Victoria and around the nation to recognise that the bushfire risk is not over and people do need to be prepared and need to be very careful."
Premier Ted Baillieu thanked the volunteers and firefighters for their hard work.
"This fire has a long way to go. We have some dangerous weeks in front of us, and we will maintain all the effort we possibly can," he said.
In Western Australia, a bushfire threatening homes had been contained last night, but firefighters warned it was not yet under control.
It had burned out 40 hectares in the southern part of Ambergate, in the city of Busselton, with authorities saying the cause of the blaze was suspicious.
DFES says the fire was contained but there was the potential for it to jump containment lines and affect nearby properties.
The fire started between Queen Elizabeth Avenue and Doyle Road near the Ambergate Nature Reserve.
It was moving slowly in a northwesterly direction towards the intersection of Ambergate Road and Edwards Road.
In a separate blaze, homes and plantations are being threatened by a bushfire burning about 900 kilometres north of Perth.
A watch and act alert has been issued for people in Miaboolya Road, Bibbawarra Road, North River Road and surrounding areas in the northeastern part of Carnarvon, on the state's north coast.
DFES said the fire, which started on Monday morning, could affect plantations along North River Road.
Residents were advised to put their bushfire survival plan into action.
