Brisbane next in line: floodwaters enter city

Floodwaters are moving into West End in the heart of Brisbane, with a number of buildings in the city's CBD also being evacuated.Several Queensland government departments have ordered workers to go home and there have also been reports of buildings being evacuated in Fortitude Valley.Police have urged all residents who live or are currently near the Brisbane River at West End to move to safer areas."The Brisbane River has risen and we are starting to see the water enter streets in the low lying areas of West End,’’ police said.Two riverside restaurants in Brisbane’s CBD are evacuating and stripping their businesses in preparation for inundation.Staff at Jellyfish restaurant and Boardwalk Bar and Bistro were pulling furniture and electrical appliances out of their restaurants on Eagle Street Pier this morning as they watched the river level rise.Central Plaza Two on Eagle Street has evacuated its car park.Authorities are conducting new modelling to see what the wall of water ripping through the Lockyer Valley will mean for Wivenhoe Dam, Premier Anna Bligh says, as Brisbane and southeast Queensland prepares for more severe weather today.Much of the deluge that fell in the Toowoomba region and is now ripping a path of devastation in the Lockyer Valley will move into the catchment of the Wivenhoe Dam system that feeds Brisbane.Ms Bligh warned large releases of water would be required from Wivenhoe Dam as a result of higher-than-expected inflows, with water then set to flow through the Brisbane River.The Premier said authorities must continue to ensure the dam functioned properly.“Releases from Wivenhoe are not optional, there is no discretion here,” she said.Ms Bligh said flood modelling and dam operations were continually being reviewed.“It is a constantly changing situation,” she said.Eight thousand Brisbane properties could be at risk of flooding tomorrow, while 400 streets may also be affected in some way, according to Brisbane City Council forecasts issued yesterday.The Brisbane River has already started to rise further this morning, with police issuing advice for all people who are currently near the river at West End to move to higher ground.''The Brisbane River has risen and we are starting to see the water enter streets in the low lying areas of West End,'' a police statement said.''There is no further information at this stage but we would like to remind residents of the dangers of flood waters. Flood levels can rise and fall quickly, please do not enter any flooded areas.''Meanwhile, a severe weather warning has been issued for much of southeast Queensland, including Brisbane and the southeast coast, Darling Downs and the Granite Belt southeast of Dalby to Goondiwindi.The Bureau of Meteorology is warning of heavy rainfall causing localised flash flooding and worsening the existing river flood situation.Authorities say Wivenhoe Dam, built partly as a flood mitigation strategy after the 1974 flood, was all that stood in the way of a repeat of the devastating event.Last night, as Queensland's flood crisis took a dramatic and deadly turn for the worse, Brisbane City Council released a list of suburbs in the state capital where properties were likely to be inundated tomorrow.