Two dead in Qld flash flooding: QFRS

Two people have died in flash flooding that's hit communities west of Brisbane.
A wall of water hit the city of Toowoomba and the Lockyer Valley at the foot of the
Toowoomba range on Monday afternoon.
Queensland Fire and Rescue Service Assistant Commissioner Tom Dawson said the death
toll stood at two.
"Unfortunately two people have perished in this weather event," he told the ABC,
without providing details.
Earlier, police said a woman who'd been caught while walking in the floodwaters had
been found dead at Toowoomba.
Mr Dawson said the flash flooding event was of a magnitude that caught emergency
services off guard.
".... we had 90 life threatening incidents out there," he said.
"Out of the 90 incidents, 32 were directly life threatening and we had crews
rescuing people."
He said as well as people being trapped in cars, they were also stuck in buildings
and on roof tops.
Earlier a child was confirmed dead.
Five people were missing, the ABC reported.
Unprecedented rain sent a flash flood down West Creek into Toowoomba's CBD.
Cars were swept away, houses were ripped from their stumps, and a building collapsed.
"This is unbelievable damage," Mayor Peter Taylor said.
"It's a real disaster scene where I'm standing at the moment in Russell St,
Toowoomba," he said.
"There's furniture and furnishings and it's just blown shops away.
"There's water literally pouring out of the front doors of shops here as a major
flash flood came through the centre of the city...
"We have a railway line about 60 or 70 metres suspended in mid air and two cars that
are virtually unrecognisable that have floated and smashed into the rail.
Rescue crews were trying to get to five vehicles swept off roads in different parts
of the city centre.
Police were also responding to three pedestrians and two vehicles swept from a
roadway at Withcott, at the foot of the Toowoomba range.
Video footage from Toowoomba shows vehicles, some with drivers still trapped inside,
being swept away and thrown into the sides of other cars and caught up in trees.
One pedestrian could be seen trying to dodge cars charging along what was once a
street.
Deputy Police Commissioner Ian Stewart said lives were under threat.
"We've had multiple 000 calls requesting urgent assistance from people caught in
vehicles, caught on the street, caught in floodways," he told reporters.
"There has been no warning of this event."
At least nine swiftwater rescues were trying to get to people trapped across the
city, the Department of Community Safety said.
The department said flash flooding had also hit the Lockyer Valley, between Brisbane
and Toowoomba.
It said there were unconfirmed reports of significant damage to homes at Postmans
Ridge, Withcott and Murphys Creek, at the bottom of the Toowoomba range.
At least six people are stuck in buildings on Ruthven Street, in the heart of
Toowoomba, the department said.
A bridge has also been swept away in the city's south and a building has collapsed
on Schofield Street in centre of the city.
Witnesses have told police up to two metres of water swept through parts of the city
after about three hours of extreme rainfall from about midday (AEST).
Premier Anna Bligh said a "massive deluge" had hit the city.
"The city has been split through the main centre of town," she said.
Toowoomba councillor Joe Ramia said he'd never seen anything like Monday's downpour
in all his life living in the city.
"I've lived here all my life and I've seen streets and football fields and ovals and
school ovals that are just oceans of water," he told AAP.
"Cars were floating, they've got streets barricaded off, there were wheelie bins
floating around.
"I've seen streets in Toowoomba that I never, never thought would carry that much
water.
"It was just horrendous."
The town of Withcott, at the foot of the range, looks like it's been hit by "an
atomic bomb", Lockyer Valley mayor Steve Jones said.
Mr Jones said he and his son had a close call after a wall of water picked up his ute.
"... I was driving across about 10 inches (25cm) of water and a wall of water came
down, picked my ute up, pushed it sidewards. If it had been a little car it would
have killed everyone in it."
Mr Jones said cars had been swept from a local service station into shops.
"There's petrol pumps taken out and taken half a kilometre down the road. It's like
Cyclone Tracy hit it."
Mr Jones said about 1,000 people had been caught up in the flooding.
"There's houses come off the stumps at Postmans Ridge and taken down the creek,
possibly two or three."
The town has no power and communications are limited to mobile phones, he said.
People in the region have been told to stay at home until the crisis passes.
Main Roads acting regional director Phil Tweddell said major landslips had occurred
on both the Warrego Highway on the Toowoomba Range and the New England Highway at Mt
Kynoch.
"All eastbound and westbound lanes on the Toowoomba Range are closed in both
directions due to numerous landslips occurring on both directions on the range," Mr
Tweddell said.
A landslip has also occurred on the northbound lanes on the New England Highway at
Mt Kynoch.
"This landslip has caused the highway to be closed in both directions to facilitate
the clean-up and to ensure the safety of all road users."
The roads will remain closed until further notice.
"The department is hoping to open one lane in both directions of the Toowoomba Range
as soon as possible, perhaps overnight but there are a wide range of variables."