Australia floodwaters still rising; damage bill could hit A$1b

Brisbane, Australia

RISING floods plagued large parts of eastern Australia on Sunday as emergency workers battled to restore water and electricity in cyclone-hit areas, with the recovery efforts expected to last several months.

At least two people were dead and several missing after torrential rain inundated large areas of Queensland and New South Wales (NSW) states, flooding homes and forcing the evacuation of tens of thousands of people.

Category four Cyclone Debbie smashed into Queensland on Tuesday between Bowen and Airlie, ripping up trees and causing widespread damage that is still being assessed. It was downgraded to a tropical low as it tracked south-east through the week, packing high winds and dumping huge volumes of rain all down the e…