Fatal floods damage critical bridge in Australia

Fast-moving floodwaters rose yesterday in northeastern Australia after forcing many to flee, blacking out homes, and sweeping away a chunk of a critical bridge.

Storms have already dumped more than a meter of rain in two days in parts of Queensland, engulfing homes, businesses and roads in muddy waters, authorities said, with heavy rains expected to continue for 24 hours.

Aerial footage shows rural communities surrounded by the floodwaters, cut off from nearby roads.

Areas of flood-hit Townsville, a popular coastal tourist destination that lies near the Great Barrier Reef, had been declared a "black zone."

Authorities added: "Our advice to residents in the black zone at the moment is to stay out of that zone and stay safe."

The authorities told 2,100 people in the town to evacuate at the weekend, though about 10 percent refused, emergency services officials said.

One woman in her 60s was killed on Sunday when the rescue boat she was in flipped over in the flood-hit rural town of Ingham, about 100 kilometers from Townsville, police said. Her body was recovered later.

The floods swept away a section of a concrete bridge over a creek, cutting off the state's main coastal road, the Bruce Highway, said officials. "It's not every day you see a bridge torn in two. That's what has happened at Ollera Creek, and it is significant," officials said.

Almost 11,000 properties remained without power across north Queensland, Ergon Energy said, with no timeframe given for when electricity would be restored.

And people could expect to see crocodiles moving about in search of calmer waters, authorities warned.

Agence France-Presse