BRISBANE, Australia, Jan. 10 (UPI) -- Torrential rain in Australia's flood-ravaged Queensland killed at least four people, with up to 50 others missing, and officials urged residents to evacuate.
Rushing waters some people compared to a tsunami plowed a trail of devastation through Toowoomba and into the Lockyer Valley, the Brisbane Courier-Mail reported.
Queensland Premier Anna Bligh called the disaster the "darkest hour of the last fortnight."
"We have unconfirmed reports out of Grantham that have us holding very grave fears for the safety of a number of people in the Grantham township," Bligh said. "We believe we're looking for at least three young pedestrians and two vehicles that seem to have been washed away."
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Officials said flash flooding in the south caused the fatalities in Toowoomba and Murphys Creek and high water levels from Ipswich to Gatton to Chinchilla created dangerous conditions, the Courier-Mail reported.
"People in low-lying, flood-prone areas at Chinchilla should immediately evacuate to higher ground," Queensland police said in a statement. "This is due to the volume of water in local waterways."
Up to 5,000 residents were told to flee their homes in low-lying parts of the Lockyer Valley, west of Brisbane, officials said. Flash flooding ravaged some communities in the valley, with reports of some homes being washed away.
Self-evacuations were under way in Gatton, Laidley and Forest Hill, the Courier-Mail reported.
"It's very severe," Lockyer Valley Regional Council Mayor Steve Jones said. "It's a very, very big concern."
The soggy weather across southeast Queensland triggered a landslide at Toowoomba Range, causing damage to the main railroad line from Brisbane, officials said.
Queensland Transport Minister Rachel Nolan said the rail line west of Grandchester was closed until further notice.
Upstream of Stanthorpe, officials were watching three irrigation dams, two of which were nearly full and one that breached Monday, the Courier Mail reported
"The council is keeping a close eye on those dams, because if they did collapse it could cause a surge of water downstream and into Stanthorpe," a Southern Downs Regional Council spokesman said.
