Australian flood toll rises

AUSTRALIA: Raging Australian floodwaters claimed two more lives Monday, when a man drowned after his car was washed into a flooded creek and the body of another swept from a small boat was recovered.

The torrential rains which have lashed the state and created a massive flood zone have now claimed 10 lives since November 30, police said.

In the latest fatality, a man died after the car he was in was washed into a flooded creek as it was being driven across a causeway, prompting more warnings for residents not to drive through flooded roads and to obey road closures.

"They are there for a purpose and that purpose is the protection of life", chief superintendent Alistair Dawson told reporters in Brisbane.

Searchers on Monday also recovered the body of a 38-year-old man whose boat was swamped two days ago in central Queensland's Boyne River at Tannum Sands, an area badly hit by the floods.

The man and his companion attempted to swim to safety after the boat began filling with water and he was last seen stranded on a sand bar. The other man made it to safety and raised the alarm.

Floodwaters sweeping through northeastern Australia have prompted a string of rescues, including that of a group attempting to cross a swamped causeway in the northern Gulf of Carpentaria region late on Saturday.

Police managed to save three children and another adult from the car but a 41-year-old woman disappeared before they could reach her. Her body was recovered later.

Since November 30 there have been seven other deaths related to the floods, including that of a 17-year-old girl who drowned after her foot became stuck between rocks while trying to walk across a swollen and rising creek.

Three other people drowned when their vehicles were swept away while a teenage boy and a man drowned in separate incidents after jumping into flowing waterways.

Another man died after being swept off a footbridge in the state's far north on December 28.

Prime Minister Julia Gillard Monday warned people to beware of the risks.

Sydney, AFP