Sensational-Adelaide.com

Eight 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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rev wrote:Are they actually releasing water down stream into the Murray, or is it coming down this far because theres too much water?

I heard the affected areas are the size of NSW, not sure how accurate that is.

ghs wrote:I heard on the radio that the whole situation will work out fairly well SA farmers and vegetable growers,
because there's been no damage here in SA and our farmers & growers will be able to sell there products
at higher prices.

QUEENSLAND is the only major state economy in Australia without a comprehensive insurance policy, leaving the government's assets exposed in the face of natural disasters.

Unlike NSW, Victoria, South Australia and Western Australia - whose governments pay millions of dollars in premiums a year to international insurance companies to protect their infrastructure - Queensland relies on a deal struck with the commonwealth to pick up 75 per cent of the recovery costs after a catastrophe.

As north Queensland braced for another battering, this time from Tropical Cyclone Yasi, The Australian confirmed that the state government has previously been approached to take out catastrophe insurance on the private market but declined to on the basis it was not "value for money".

Julia Gillard continues to meet crossbenchers to rally support for her proposed $1.8 billion flood levy, but the Queensland government's lack of insurance is set to become a sticking point in discussions with independent senator Nick Xenophon, who has called for all states to have proper mandatory insurance safety nets.

A spokesman for Queensland Treasurer Andrew Fraser said the government considered taking out reinsurance some years ago and opted against it because it was ultimately deemed not to be "a value-for-money proposition".

But the website for the Queensland government's self-insurance pool states: "The purchase of reinsurance as appropriate to the management of major and catastrophic risks is an ongoing consideration."

Without purchasing reinsurance for the Queensland Government Insurance Fund on the global market, the state government falls back on a longstanding arrangement with the commonwealth under the Natural Disaster Relief and Recovery Arrangements, which demands the federal government pick up 75 per cent of reconstruction costs.

While the economic fallout of Yasi is not yet known, the federal government has already pulled together a $5.6bn flood relief package of spending cuts and a taxpayer levy, which it will try to push through parliament in the next two weeks.

In contrast to Queensland, the NSW government will spend $34million this year in comprehensive reinsurance for its Treasury Managed Fund to protect all of the state's assets for any one loss of $3bn.

A spokesman for NSW Treasurer Eric Roozendaal said: "In the event of a natural disaster, any one of the $118bn of declared assets would be covered for replacement cost."

The Victorian government takes out cover for the Victorian Managed Insurance Authority on the private market to protect its assets, leaving the commonwealth to cover uninsured catastrophe costs including overtime costs for emergency services personnel and relief measures. Victorian Finance Minister Robert Clark said: "My advice is the amount covered by VMIA's insurance with the private market is well in excess of what is expected to be required for (flood) claims."

A spokesman for the South Australian Treasury said the state had bought commercial catastrophe reinsurance on the international market because "it has been considered appropriate that the state's finances be protected against the financial consequences of a catastrophic event".

Insurance Commission of Western Australia general manager Lew Watts said the state's insurance pool, RiskCover, also took out reinsurance on the private market, but neither Tasmania nor the Northern Territory had comprehensive reinsurance.

Senator Xenophon, who has been lobbying for an overhaul of the way governments insure against natural disasters, said he would take up the issue with the Prime Minister in negotiations about the flood levy.

While stressing Queensland must be given the resources to rebuild, Senator Xenophon said: "If the commonwealth is going to be asked to contribute billions to rebuilding, it is reasonable it insists that states take out insurance on assets and infrastructure."