Residents of an Australian coastal city were evacuated yesterday as surging floodwaters edged closer to their community, with one official describing the devastation as reaching 'biblical proportions'. A woman swept from the road in her car has become the first victim of massive flooding in the Australian state of Queensland, where at least two other people are reported missing. The 41-year-old woman’s body was found downstream in the Leichardt River in Queensland’s Gulf Country. The as-yet unnamed woman had disappeared last night when the car she was travelling in was washed off a causeway at Floraville near Burketown. Authorities were also searching for a 38-year-old man in the flooded Boyne River, south of Gladstone, and the search for another man missing in the Fitzroy River area has been suspended. Scroll down for video report Wet start to the year: Houses in the town of Theodore, 255 miles north west of Brisbane, were partially submerged by flood waters yesterday Days of driving rain last week swamped northeastern Australia, with around 200,000 people affected by floodwaters in an area larger than France and Germany combined. While the rain has stopped, rivers are still surging to new heights and overflowing into low-lying towns as the water makes its way towards the ocean. 'In many ways, it is a disaster of biblical proportions,' Queensland Treasurer Andrew Fraser said in the flooded city of Bundaberg. The city of Rockhampton, near the coast, is the next community in the water's path, and is bracing for flood levels to peak on Tuesday or Wednesday. Rockhampton residents stocked up on food and supplies yesterday, with officials moving those living in low-lying areas into an evacuation center. Washout: A petrol station is partially submerged by flood waters, in Bundaberg, about 174 miles north of Brisbane An aerial view of the flooding situation near the town of Watson, in the state of Queensland following record rainfall Merry Christmas: But it's far from a happy new year for residents of Bundaberg who are submerged under flood water Submerged: Most of Chincilla, in Queensland, is under water and the flooding looks set to continue Mayor Brad Carter warned that about 40 percent of the city could be affected by the surging waters, and residents could be forced to wait at least two weeks before returning home. 'Some of them will not know whether their floorboards have been covered and their personal property destroyed, or whether they've been saved and the water has only come up and spared their property,' he said. 'That's going to be a difficult waiting period for many members of our community.' Officials say half of Queensland's 715,305 square miles have been affected by the flooding. Queensland Premier Anna Bligh warned that drenched communities could be underwater for more than a week, and cleanup efforts were expected to cost billions of dollars. Military aircraft dropped supplies to towns cut off by floodsas the prime minister promised new assistance. Worst hit: Street signs are submerged in flood waters in Bundaberg, Queensland Damage: These homes are completely underwater after swollen rivers burst their banks. One thousand people had to be rescued by helicopter from the town of Theodore Recovery operation: Christopher Roth tries to salvage what he can from his parents' flooded home in Bundaberg Prime Minister Julia Gillard toured an evacuation center in the flood-stricken town of Bundaberg on Friday and announced that families whose homes had been flooded or damaged would be eligible for disaster relief payments of $1,000 per adult and $400 per child. Bundaberg resident Sandy Kiddle told the Prime Minister she lost cherished items after floodwaters surged through her house. She said may not be able to return home for a week. 'It was just a sea of water, and I thought the beach would never come to our house,' she said. Northeastern Australia often sees heavy rains and flooding during the Southern Hemisphere summer, but the scope of the damage from the recent downpours is unusual. Jim Casey and his wife Lesley made the most of the flooding and fished from the porch of their flooded home in Chinchilla, Queensland Emergency: State and federal governments have pledged £1.3million to help deal with the aftermath of the floodingOz Floods the Size Of France & Germany
Australian towns evacuated as floods 'of biblical proportions' claim their first victim,
and two more are missing as waters rise
Sunday 2 January 2011
'My concern is for the people in these very difficult times,' Ms Gillard said.
A day earlier, she pledged £645,000 in federal aid to match a relief fund already set up by the state government.
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