© ReutersCars were tossed around by flash flooding Monday in Toowoomba, an Australian city about 65 miles west of Brisbane.
The violent surge near the town of Toowoomba after a fresh storm Monday escalated Australia's 2-week-old flood crisis in Queensland state and brought the overall death toll to 18. Until then, the flooding had unfolded slowly as swollen rivers burst their banks and inundated towns while moving downstream toward the ocean.
Emergency services officers plucked more than 40 people from houses isolated overnight by the torrent that hit the Lockyer Valley on Monday. But thunderstorms and more driving rain hampered efforts to send helicopters to help an unknown number of other people still in danger Tuesday.
Thousands were being evacuated from flood-prone areas, and residents in some sections of Brisbane - Australia's third-largest city - were being urged to move to higher ground as water from Toowoomba's flash flooding worked its way toward the coast.
Queensland state Premier Anna Bligh said four children were killed and there were "grave concerns" for at least 11 of the 72 missing. Many of those still stranded or unaccounted for are families and young children, she said.
"This has been a night of extraordinary events," Bligh told reporters. "We've seen acts of extreme bravery and courage from our emergency workers. We know they're out on the front line desperately trying to begin their search and rescue efforts, and we know we have people stranded and people lost."
She said the death toll stood at eight, but that "we expect that figure to rise and potentially quite dramatically."
Queensland has been in the grip of its worst flooding for more than two weeks, after tropical downpours across a vast area of the state covered an area the size of France and Germany combined. Entire towns have been swamped, more than 200,000 people affected, and coal and farming industries virtually shut down.
"The power of nature can still be a truly frightening power and we've seen that on display in this country," Prime Minister Julia Gillard said.
Police Commissioner Bob Atkinson described the events Monday as "an inland instant tsunami, with a massive wall of water that's gone down through the Lockyer Valley."
On Tuesday, the water was still pushing its way downstream, flooding river systems as it moved toward the coast. Thousands were being evacuated from communities in the water's predicted path, and officials closed roads and highways to some areas at high risk of being inundated. Residents in low-lying regions of the state capital of Brisbane were urged to sandbag their homes and later told to move to higher ground.
"We have a grim and desperate situation," Bligh said. "This took everybody so unawares that there was no opportunity in most cases for people to get to safety."
Rescue workers were battling more bad weather Tuesday. Heavy rain and thunderstorms were forecast for the region for most of the day, which could lead to more flash flooding, the Bureau of Meteorology warned.
Deputy Police Commissioner Ian Stewart said rescue efforts were concentrated on towns downstream of Toowoomba, including hardest-hit Murphy's Creek and Grantham, where about 30 people sought shelter in a school isolated by the floodwaters.
News video from late Monday showed houses submerged to the roof line in raging muddy waters, with people clambering on top. A man, woman and child sat on the roof of their car as waters churned around them with just inches (centimeters) to spare.
Among the dead were a mother and her two children whose car was swept away in the floodwaters, Bligh said. Two other children also were killed, she said.
In Toowoomba, the waters disappeared almost as fast as they arrived, leaving debris strewn throughout downtown and cars piled atop one another.
The flooding in recent weeks has cut roads and rail lines across Queensland, the state's coal industry has been virtually shut down, and cattle ranching and farming across a large part of the state are at a standstill.
Queensland officials have said the price of rebuilding homes, businesses and infrastructure, coupled with economic losses, could be as high as $5 billion.
On the other side of Australia, hot, dry conditions have sparked a wildfire that has destroyed at least four homes. Around 150 firefighters were battling a blaze about 70 miles (110 kilometers) south of the Western Australia state capital of Perth on Tuesday. There have been no reported injuries.
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