BRISBANE, Australia, Jan. 11 (UPI) -- Deadly flash flooding swept parts of Queensland Tuesday, creating what the Australian state's premier called "a grim and desperate situation".
Authorities urged residents in Lockyer and Brisbane valleys to evacuate their homes.
Officials confirmed at least 10 people had died in the Queensland flooding and another 78 are confirmed missing throughout the region, Australian media reported.
Premier Anna Bligh indicated the death toll likely would rise as rescuers worked to locate survivors or those unaccounted for, the Brisbane Courier-Mail said.
"It might be breaking our hearts at the moment, but it will not break our will," Bligh said.
The water was moving toward Brisbane, where the biggest flood since 1974 was expected to arrive in the coming days, the Australian Broadcasting Corp. reported.
Many towns in the region were damaged by flash flooding, officials said. Houses were removed from their footings and cars were washed away.
Health officials are advising residents in Toowoomba, Gayndah, Mundubbera, Somerset, Dalby and Condamine to boil their water before drinking it.
Residents across southeast Queensland were warned to stay out of floodwaters and avoid driving if possible.
The weather has prevented rescue teams sent to the region from being deployed, Bligh said.
"We have a grim and desperate situation," she said, "whole families unaccounted for".
Authorities were working to rescue people in Postmans Ridge -- where houses were reportedly swept away -- Withcott, Grantham, Helidon and Murphys Creek, the Courier-Mail said.
Floodwaters were expected to swoop through Bremer River in Ipswich and into the Brisbane River Wednesday, forecasters said.
Officials said water had to be released from several dams around the flooded Queensland area to relieve pressure on the structures, compounding the situation.
At least 5,600 homes were without power Tuesday in the Lockyer Valley, Brisbane Valley and Gympie.
"It's like an atomic bomb hit this place, or it's like Cyclone Tracy," Lockyer Mayor Steve Jones said. "The intensity was impossible to explain".
In Toowoomba, forecaster Ben Annells called the rise of water "meteoric." He said the intensity and speed of the rainfall were at the heart of the crisis.
Panic-buying was reported at grocery stores across southeast Queensland, with some outlets saying they were running low on essentials, ABC said.
Scott Driscoll of the United Retail Federation urged consumers to remain calm and "do what they would naturally do at this time to ensure they have the essentials to get them through the next 48 hours". UPI
