Australian Red Cross - QLD Floods CharityEight dead, 70 missing as 'inland tsunami' devastates Toowoomba and nearby towns
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EIGHT people are confirmed dead and grave fears are held for 11 people whose homes were washed way in the valley community of Murpheys Creek after flash flooding in southeaset Queensland.
A major search and rescue effort is underway with dozens of people waiting for help after flash flooding hit communities west of Brisbane.
More than 70 people are unaccounted for. Unconfirmed reports suggest 50 of these have been found seeking refuge in a Granthon school hall.
Queensland's Disaster Co-ordinator, Ian Stewart, says the toll is likely to rise beyond the eight recorded so far.
He said the valley community of Murphys Creek - where the bodies of a man and a boy were found yesterday - was of concern.
``It's quite a narrow ravine type area ... and we are waiting for confirmation of any further loss of life in that area,'' Mr Stewart said.
He said homes in Murphys Creek had been swept away and others had been severely damaged, with vehicles also swept off roads and dumped in creeks. There are unconfirmed reports of further bodies having been found in the area this morning.
``We had three teenagers washed off a culvert and into a creek. We believe they have been accounted for now, but we also had cars washed off the Warrego Highway in that area,'' Mr Stewart said.
``So whilst we're confirming at the moment eight persons deceased, we're certainly very, very concerned about a range of other reports that are coming in.''
Parts of the city of Toowoomba were devastated by tsunami-like flash flooding, which has also left a trail of destruction in the Lockyer Valley at the foot of the Toowoomba range.
Many are stranded on rooftops waiting for rescues that could not start before first light this morning.
All roads in the area are closed, and fog and heavy rains are preventing helicopters from being deployed.
Police earlier said the dead included a woman and a boy whose bodies were found in the Toowoomba CBD. And in the nearby community of Murphys Creek, a man and a boy were found dead after being washed away from a house.
Atrocious weather forced authorities to suspend efforts to reach dozens of people stranded on rooftops and at other locations in the valley last night.
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