Australian authorities on Sunday said they found a third body in the aftermath of Cyclone Debbie and accompanying floods that swamped the country’s east coast, as receding waters start revealing the human and economic cost of the storm. Many are predicting that Debbie will be the worst tropical storm to hit the area in a century.The disaster zone stretches 1,000 km (600 miles) from Queensland's Gold Coast tourist strip to the farmlands of New South Wales state, and mass evacuations have already taken place though many have been left stranded due to severe floods and high winds. Queensland police warned that the Logan River, which runs through Beenleigh south of Brisbane, would only hit peak flood levels during the afternoon while further north the city of Rockhampton was also facing a serious threat. At least three people were dead and several missing after torrential rain inundated large areas of Queensland and New South Wales states, flooding homes and forcing the evacuation of tens of thousands of people. But evacuation orders were still in place for a number of townships in the state’s north, while the city of Rockhampton in Queensland braced for record-level flooding next week, as water moves downstream into the Fitzroy River catchment. Tens of thousands of people have been evacuated from a string of towns in Queensland and New South Wales as the floods move south towards Ballina, cutting roads. And with record floods expected, tens of thousands of people have been evacuated as authorities brace for damages of hundreds of millions of dollars in the coming days.The Insurance Council of Australia has already declared both the Queensland and northern New South Wales regions as disaster zones, with estimated damages of up to Aus$1 billion ($762 million).Almost 100,000 homes have been left without power and evacuees are unsure of what to expect once the storm finally passes late next week.
The death toll from Cyclone Debbie and the associated flooding in the Australian states of New South Wales and Queensland rises to five people.