Huge Australian Floods Kill At Least 7, Major Damage Around Brisbane

Just  one of many flooded neighborhoods in 
Queensland, Australia as record heavy rains hit the area. 

 Australia is having yet another tough go with the weather, this time coming in the form of in some cases record breaking floods that have so far killed at least eight people.  

The flooding in Brisbane was just slightly under the levels of  a 2011 inundation that was then described as a once in a century flood.  Other areas in the region had record flooding 

According to the Associated Press:

"Police warned downtown Brisbane businesses along the river waterfront to evacuate after a pontoon carrying a crane broke from its moorings upstream and began riding the floodwaters toward them.

Multiple emergency flood alerts were in pace for Brisbane suburbs, where 2,145 homes and 2,356 businesses were submerged on Monday. Another 10,827 properties were partially flooded above the floorboards."

The Brisbane River was just two feet below the record crest established in 2011.

In some ways though, this flood is worse than 2011 because the Brisbane River rose more slowly then, allowing better warnings and more time to evacuate and move property. This time, a tremendous amount of rain in a short period of time made the Brisbane and other rivers rise rapidly, notes the Associated Press.

Some areas are experiencing record flooding this time around. The downtown of Lismore in Australia was completely inundated and 15,000 people had been evacuated, the AP reported. 

Video on social media showed storefronts in Lismores downtowns completely under water with water lapping at second floors A McDonald's was completely under water except for the tall sign in front of the restaurant. 

Though the rain was tapering off today around Brisbane, residents of Sydney, also on the Australia's east coast but further south, were warned to expect severe storms and flooding. 

Australia has been violently lurching between destructive floods and severe droughts and wildfires in recent years. Though local weather patterns contribute to this, climate change is making matters worse and more extreme. 

Videos. If you don't see the videos displayed below, click on the hyperlinks in the introductions to each one. 

News video from Australian Broadcasting:

More video from The Guardian

And a news report from the hard hit town of Linsmore. Reminds me of Houston during Harvey back in 2017