Flood-devastated Queensland, Australia, has been warned to expect more flooding as waters continue to swamp towns in the state of Victoria.
An unusually high tide is expected in Brisbane on Friday, which could inundate low-lying areas bringing more floods.
More rain could make matters worse, officials say.
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Brisbane’s Lord Mayor Campbell Newman said tomorrow’s king tide would “be similar to what occurred on the winter king tide in July and tidal flooding on 21 December last year.”
“If you live in a foreshore or low-lying area, by the river, or near a creek, you must be prepared for some localised flooding on Friday.”
Meanwhile, about a quarter of Victoria, in the south east of Australia, has now been affected by the floods which continue to threaten a further 72 towns across the state.
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Most of Kerang’s 3500 residents have left their homes, although a levee continued to hold back the worst of the flood.
However, there are concerns about how much longer the levee will be able to withstand high flood levels.
In Domboola, Victoria, residents evacuated ahead of a peak on the Wimmera River.
“This flood event is still far from over,” said Tim Wiebusch, director of operations for the State Emergency Service.
“We are likely to see this flood emergency continuing for at least another seven to ten days.”
In Queensland, there have been more storms, bringing rain to Brisbane and the Lockyer Valley area, which bore the brunt of last week’s severe flooding.
In towns such as Bundaberg and Rockhampton, cars were swept off streets and an evacuation centre was flooded.
People found themselves in waist-high water as heavy storms followed the floods. A man had to cling to a tree as his car was swept away.
Queensland State Premier Anna Bligh warned that recovery from weeks of devastating floods was still a long way off.
“People’s homes are stripped, they’ve got nothing, we’ve got to rebuild their homes and help them rebuild their lives,” she said.
She also paid tribute to the “Mop Army”, saying the massive task of mopping up after the floods at first seem “insurmountable” but is now getting done.
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Bligh added that rebuilding in some flooded areas could be banned.
“The last thing we want to do is rebuild in the same place and see that house flooded again in two or three years’ time.”
