Brisbane flood disaster about to take turn for worse

We now turn to the situation unfolding in Queensland this morning.

A grave hour beckons, as Brisbane's flood disaster is about to take a turn for the worse as the south east Queensland city faces a flood peak to rival the 1974 crisis.

After a day of eerily calm weather, which saw waters slip into backyards and businesses across Brisbane, residents are being told to prepare for a "shocking and remarkable challenge".

The ABC said already thousands of homes in some Brisbane suburbs have waters past the second storey after Wednesday's peak reached 4.2 metres.

The normally sedate Brisbane River, swollen by months of rain, has become a raging torrent, tearing pontoons and boats loose and bursting its banks to swamp low-lying parts of the city.

The CBD stands vacant, water pooling between the high-rises, and several bridges and the Riverside Expressway are closed, cutting the city in half.

But the crisis is set to worsen, with the Bureau of Meteorology saying the river will peak just below 5 metres this hour.

Officials say floodwaters from the swollen Brisbane River   which cuts through the heart of the city have already killed at least 22 people since last month.  

They expect the death toll to rise now that flooding has hit the Queensland state capital while over 45 people remaining missing.

Premier Anna Bligh said despite the flood peaks being revised down slightly, residents will face inundation on an unimaginable scale.

Story by: Roneel Lal
Source: bbc