AS THE death toll in this week’s Queensland floods rose to 15, with dozens still missing, state premier Anna Bligh said the task of rebuilding communities ravaged by floodwaters would be of “postwar proportions”.
Ms Bligh warned that clean-up and rebuilding costs could reach five billion Australian dollars (€3.75 billion): “Queensland is reeling . . . from the worst natural disaster in our history and possibly in the history of our nation.”
Water continued to surge through the capital, Brisbane, yesterday, after the Brisbane river reached its peak at 4.46m (14.6ft) at 2.57am.
This was almost one metre below the level that had been feared, but not enough to save the city from further mass flooding.
Almost 12,000 homes and 2,500 businesses have been completely flooded in Brisbane this week, with a further 14,700 houses and 2,500 businesses at least partially covered.
More than 100,000 homes were still without electricity last night and thousands were spending the night in evacuation centres or with friends and relatives.
As the water recedes, the clean-up has begun in some of the affected suburbs. “I’ll be calling on every able-bodied man, woman and child to do some work, to do some time out there helping people in their homes and, indeed, businesses, to do some clean-up,” said Brisbane mayor Campbell Newman.
Ms Bligh, who has been stoical throughout the crisis, was visibly upset at a press conference yesterday. “As we weep for what we have lost, as we grieve for family and friends and we confront the challenge before us, I want us to remember who we are. We are Queenslanders,” she said.
“We should be very mindful that mother nature has done shocking and devastating damage. People are living, at the moment, in what I would call a postwar zone.
“I look across my state right now and there is three-quarters of the state that has experienced what people are seeing on their TV screens.”
Heartbreaking stories, such as that of 13-year-old Jordan Rice and his mother Donna, are emerging from the disaster.
Jordan was trapped with his mother and younger brother Blake after their car stopped when crossing floodwaters in the town of Toowoomba, forcing them on to the roof of their car.
A truck driver tied a rope round his waist and waded in to try to rescue them. But when he reached the car, Jordan told him “save my brother”.
Jordan and his mother died, while his 10-year-old brother was pulled to safety.