Death toll rises to 15 in Australia flooding

[News_Editor]

Death toll rises to 15 in Australia flooding

2011-01-14 00:31:34 GMT+7 (ICT)

BRISBANE, AUSTRALIA (BNO NEWS) -- The death toll in Australia's Lockyer Valley flash flooding has now risen to 15 after rescue workers recovered more bodies on Thursday, local media reported.

The bodies were found in the Brisbane suburb of Durack, at Myall Creek near Dalby on the western Darling Downs, and at Grantham in the Lockyer Valley, Australia's ABC News reported.

In addition to the 15 fatalities, local authorities said 61 people remain missing, and at least 12 of them are greatly feared to have died after flash floods washed away their Lockyer Valley houses on Monday.

Queensland premier Anna Bligh, who has described the flooding as the "worst natural disaster in our history," on Thursday morning told local media that the region is "facing a reconstruction effort of post-war proportions."

Bligh also warned that it could be months until residents are able to return to their homes, while some will find their homes "to be never habitable again."

Meanwhile, around two hundred police from Queensland and other states will participate in a 3-week-long '24/7' patrol of the flooded streets of Brisbane and Ipswich.

However, Police Commissioner Bob Atkinson said there was no need for a curfew to discourage any opportunistic looters, adding that anyone concerned should call local authorities.

As relief and rescue work continues, emergency services reportedly received around 9,000 calls, 6,000 of them from Brisbane, in the past 24 hours.

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