BRISBANE, Australia (AP) — Floodwaters poured into the empty downtown of Australia's third-largest city Wednesday after tearing a deadly path across the northeast, swamping neighborhoods in what could be Brisbane's most devastating floods in a century.
The surging, muddy waters reached the tops of traffic lights in some parts of Brisbane, and the city's mayor said at least 20,000 homes were in danger of being inundated.
At least 22 people have died and more than 40 are missing across Australia's northeastern state of Queensland since drenching rains that began in November sent swollen rivers spilling over their banks, flooding an area larger than France and Germany combined. Brisbane, the state capital with a population of 2 million, is the latest city to face down the waters, and officials expect the death toll to rise.
On Wednesday, Brisbane residents who had spent two days preparing took cover on higher ground while others scrambled to move their prized possessions to the top floors of their homes. Some stacked furniture on their roofs.
The Brisbane River is expected to reach its highest point on Thursday. After days of bad news in which figures were constantly being revised, the Bureau of Meteorology late Wednesday delivered a small and rare positive forecast — the floodwaters would crest about a foot lower than earlier thought.
If correct, the new forecast meant the waters would not reach the depth of 1974 floods that swept the city. Queensland Prime Minister Anna Bligh said the news was welcome, but of little comfort.
"This is still a major event, the city is much bigger, much more populated and has many parts under flood that didn't even exist in 1974," she said. "We are still looking at an event which will cripple parts of our city."
The dragged-out crisis escalated when a violent storm sent a 26-foot, fast-moving torrent — described as an "inland instant tsunami" — crashing through the city of Toowoomba and smaller towns to the west of Brisbane on Monday. Twelve people were killed in that flash flood. Late Wednesday, Ms. Bligh said the number of missing had been revised down to 43.
"This is a truly dire set of circumstances," Australian Prime Minister Julia Gillard said.
The Brisbane River broke its banks on Tuesday and was continuing its rise Wednesday — partly controlled by a huge dam upstream that has had its floodgates opened because it is brimming after weeks of rain across the state.
