Major floods inundated the east coast of Australia, killing 8 people

Parts of Brisbane, Australia’s third most populous city, were inundated on Monday after torrential rains triggered record flooding in some areas of the east coast and killed eight people.

The floods in Brisbane and surrounding areas are the worst since 2011 when the city of 2.6 million was inundated with what was described as a once-in-a-century event.

Queensland State Police said the latest death of a man in his 50s drowned on Monday after he drove his car into pre-dawn floodwaters in the Gold Coast city, south of Brisbane.

A police statement said that the bodies of the man and his dog were recovered hours later from a submerged car that was washed from the road.

Queensland emergency services have warned of life-threatening flash floods in parts of the Gold Coast.

Officials said emergency crews carried out more than 130 rescues in fast-water in 24 hours.

All eight flood deaths occurred in the state of Queensland, of which Brisbane is the capital. The search continues for a solo sailor, aged 70, who fell overboard from his ship in the Brisbane River near the city center on Saturday.

Police are also searching for a missing man from Godna, west of Brisbane, and another in Eske, northwest of Brisbane.

South of the Queensland border, police on Monday are looking for a man after officers overheard him calling for help on Sunday in floodwaters in the New South Wales town of Lismore.

Police warned businesses in downtown Brisbane along the river’s waterfront to evacuate after a pontoon carrying a crane broke from its moorings at the top of the river and began riding the floodwaters towards them.

Several flood emergency warnings were issued in the Brisbane suburbs, where 2,145 homes and 2,356 businesses were inundated on Monday. Another 10,827 properties above the floorboards were also partially submerged.

The Brisbane River peaked on Monday at 3.85 meters (12 feet, 3 inches), officials said.

Officials said this was 61 centimeters (2 feet) below the 4.46 meters (14 feet, 3 inches) level he reached in 2011.

Queensland Premier Anastasia Palazczuk said rainfall over Brisbane had been unusual since November when authorities were considering restrictions on water use due to shortages.

“This is still a significant event, and I think everyone would agree that no one has seen this amount of rain in such a short period of time” in the southeast region, Palaszczuk said.

Brisbane Mayor Lord Adrian Schreiner said the flooding was “very different” from 2011 because rain hit the area for five days. In 2011, the rain stopped days before the Brisbane River reached its peak and authorities warned for several days of flooding downstream.

Queensland Transport Minister Mark Bailey said major roads had been cut. He said train and ferry services through Brisbane had been halted.

“We’ll have localized flooding in many areas for a few days now,” Bailey said.

Lismore was preparing for the worst flood ever.

Lismore city center was inundated on Monday, officials said, after days of heavy rain and 15,000 people were evacuated.