Heavy rains flood eastern Australia, killing seven

Feb. 27 (UPI) -- Severe flooding not seen in more than a decade in eastern Australia has killed at least seven people with several others still missing, authorities.

Eastern Australia was hit with heavy rain over the weekend that saw the area around Brisbane, the country's third largest city, see more than 15.7 inches of rain on Sunday alone, prompting nearly two dozen flood warnings for the state of Queensland.

Diane Eadie with the Bureau of Meteorology told reporters during a press conference Monday that the rain caused the Brisbane River to peak at about 12.6 feet at 8 a.m. Though the river has now eased, Eadie warned it could reach 10 feet again during the night.

The amount of rain and flooding is the most severe since 2011 when such weather impacted 75% of the state, causing about $2.38 billion in damages and 33 people to lose their lives, according to the Australian government.

"I think everyone would agree, no one has seen this amount of rain in such a short period of time over our entire southeast catchment zone," said Queensland Premier Annastacia Palaszczuk.

Police said a 59-year-old man became the seventh person to die due to the weather emergency when he was swept away by flood waters overnight.

Authorities said they are searching for a number of people who went missing in the floodwaters, including a man who was in a vehicle that was swept away and a man who entered waters while trying to save animals under threat.

Overnight, authorities received some 2,200 requests for assistance from the State Emergency Service and performed 113 water rescues with more ongoing.

Nearly 19,000 homes in Brisbane and Gimpy have been impacted with 1,544 people in 36 evacuation shelters, officials said, adding that some 51,000 customers were without power.

The flooding has also caused nearly 1,000 schools to close, according to the Queensland government.

"As you can see by this, this is a really big event and the event is not over," Palaszczuk said.

Police on Monday also warned the public in the Howard Smith Wharves and Riverside walkway area to evacuate after a pontoon carrying a construction crane broke free of its mooring and was traveling down the Brisbane river.

"Locals are advised to avoid the area, and unless absolutely necessary, stay home," Queensland Police said on Twitter.