Floodwaters entered the low-lying areas of Australia's third-largest city Wednesday as
the Brisbane river breached its banks, forcing thousands in the Queensland capital to flee their homes in the midst of frantic rescue efforts.
Up to 30 people are believed to have died in
Queensland state since floods swept northeast of Australia.
The waters Wednesday reached the province's capital Brisbane and Mayor Campbell Newman warned that over 20,000 buildings are likely to go under water.
He said new flood modelling indicated that an
estimated 19,700 residential properties and 3500 commercial premises were likely to be flooded in the city as the Brisbane River burst its banks and inundated suburbs, including Jindalee, Toowong and Yeronga.
As the country witnessed the worst flood crisis in a century, the number of missing people has been scaled down to 67 from 90 after many were found during frantic rescue efforts, state Emergency Services Minister Neil Roberts said.
"I just want to stress that that number will move upwards and downwards over the coming days as police get reports and either confirm or otherwise the existence or whereabouts of individuals," Roberts said.
"So we still do have grave concerns for a significant number of people and search and rescue operations will obviously be continuing in the Lockyer Valley area," he said.
Meanwhile, the Federation of Indian Students in Australia, a body representing Indian students, asked Indians across the country to rally support for the flood-hit people of Queensland, including thousands from the community.
A large number of Indians are believed to have been affected by the Queensland flooding. It is believed that over 10,000 students are currently enrolled in Central Queensland
University (CQU).
FISA spokesperson Gautam Gupta expressed concern over the current flood crisis which he said was prompting many families in India to call and inquire about their loved ones studying in the state universities and other institutions.
"We are concerned that amongst the thousands of victims of this tragedy, there are a number of Indian students. These students will be doing very tough and our hearts go out to them and their loved ones," he said.
Authorities were now planning for a Brisbane River peak not experienced since 1893 with a peak of 5.5 metres on the high tides about 4 am and 4 pm Thursday.
Brisbane residents have been warned complete suburbs could go under, as floodwaters begin to inundate riverside homes.