At least six people have died in floods caused by torrential rains that eastern Australia had not seen in decades.
Since Monday, huge downpours have battered the east of the country, submerging entire buildings, causing flash floods, flooding roads and washing away cars.
Brisbane Mayor Adrian Schrinner described the weather phenomenon as a "shower bomb" over southeast Queensland.
Over 300mm of rainfall has been recorded in some areas in the past 24 hours, as Queensland is renowned for its sunshine.
The emergency services are overwhelmed: in recent days, they have received 100 requests for help per hour.
Several missing
According to state police, a 34-year-old man died after his car was swept away by floodwaters on Sunday afternoon.
He managed to escape from his vehicle by swimming, seeking a promontory to safety, but was swept away.
His body was found shortly afterwards.
Police are continuing to search for a man in his 70s who fell into a river in Brisbane on Friday.
Among the missing is also a man whose car was swept away by a sudden flood in the state of New South Wales.
In Gympie, the Mary River exceeded 22 m, its highest level since the 1880s. 700 inhabitants were asked to evacuate and 5,700 homes no longer had electricity.
The showers are heading this Sunday towards southern Queensland, a very residential part, and the Premier of the State Annastacia Palaszczuk has summoned the inhabitants of Brisbane, the third largest city in the country, to stay at home.
More than 1,400 homes are already at risk from floodwaters, she warned.
“This rain bomb is really… relentless, she summed up, searching for her words.
It falls to buckets!
Proof of the seriousness of the situation, Australian Prime Minister Scott Morrison attended Annastacia Palaszczuk's press conference.
"It's going to be a very anxious night in Brisbane as the rain continues to fall," he warned.
Schools closed and transport suspended
A major water treatment plant has been shut down.
More than 28,000 homes were without power across the state as of Sunday afternoon.
The busy Gold and Sunshine coast beaches are all closed to the public.
More than 100 schools in southeast Queensland will be closed as a precaution, and many public transport has been suspended.
Hundreds of roads and streets are cut off, including the busiest highway.
Strong fears of landslides on sodden land have been raised.
The rains will continue on Monday before the storm system moves into New South Wales.
It is expected to wane but some at-risk communities in the northeast of Australia's most populous state have already been told to evacuate.
⚠️⛈️Severe thunderstorms with life threatening flash flooding continuing over Brisbane.
This threat will slowly shift south over coming hours, people in the Scenic Rim and Gold Coast need to remain alert.
Bracken Ridge 420mm since 9am.
https://t.co/FBmpsInT9o pic.twitter.com/sWKOirZybR
— Bureau of Meteorology, Queensland (@BOM_Qld) February 27, 2022
After several years of drought and bushfires exacerbated by climate change, eastern Australia has experienced an extraordinarily wet summer, due to La Niña, a cold air current that reverses the El Niño weather phenomenon in the waters. equatorial surface of the Pacific Ocean.