Floods hit eastern Australia, 200,000 properties blacked out

Torrential rain from the remnants of Cyclone Alfred flooded swathes of Australia's east coast on Monday, as workers battled to restore power to more than 200,000 homes and businesses.

Even as the weather system weakened, authorities issued a string of flood and severe weather warnings across a 400-kilometre (250-mile) stretch of coast straddling Queensland and New South Wales.

The tropical depression dumped 30 centimetres (one foot) of rain in 24 hours over Queensland's capital city of Brisbane, the bureau of meteorology said.

Floodwaters swamped some streets in the city of 2.5 million, stranding half-submerged cars in the worst-affected areas, images published in Australian media showed.

Emergency services rescued 17 people from fast-moving waters in Queensland overnight, the state's premier, David Crisafulli said.

"Rainfall is leading to flash flooding as well as river flooding in parts of the southeast," he told a news conference.

"We are urging people to stay connected because of the prospect of more intense flooding during the course of today."

Heavy rainfall, flash flooding and moderate-to-major river flooding remained a risk, bureau of meteorology forecaster Jonathan How said

"This is all due to the remnants of ex-Tropical Cyclone Alfred," he told AFP.

"It did cross the southeast Queensland coast on Saturday, but it has been very slow moving even as it moved over land. And, quite importantly, it is still dragging a lot of moisture."

- Mass power cuts -

Utility companies said more than 210,000 homes and businesses were still blacked out in Queensland, and another 10,000 in New South Wales.

In New South Wales, Essential Energy said repairs were underway across the storm-hit region, with "significant vegetation work to remove trees from power lines, re-standing power poles, replacing electrical assets and restringing power lines".

"The weather pattern is still somewhat unpredictable. We're expecting some increased rainfalls over the next 24 hours," New South Wales Premier Chris Minns told a news conference.

Nevertheless, all but one of the evacuation notices in the state had been lifted, he said.

The wild weather has so far claimed at least one life, after a 61-year-old man's four-wheel-drive pickup was swept off a bridge Friday in northern New South Wales.

He tried in vain to cling to a tree branch in the river before disappearing into the rapid waters, police said, and his body was found the next day.

In a separate incident Saturday, 13 soldiers were injured and taken to hospital when two army trucks rolled over during a deployment to clear roads near the flood-prone northern New South Wales city of Lismore.

All but one of the troops had been released from hospital by Monday, Defence Minister Richard Marles said.

"The one person who is still in hospital is in a stable condition. Not a life-threatening injury, and is expected to recover," he told national broadcaster ABC.

"So that's a relief."

djw/lb

© Agence France-Presse