Qld: Police find body of woman in floodwaters
04 Apr 2009 1:28 PM
BRISBANE, April 4 AAP - Queensland police and SES crews have found the body of an elderly woman whose car was swept off a crossing in the Sunshine Coast hinterland during Thursday's flash floods.
Her car was seen being carried downstream from the Six Mile Creek crossing near Kin Kin, the community which was hit hardest by the deluge which dumped hundreds of millimetres of rain on the area in a matter of hours.
An eye witness told police the floodwaters were more than a metre high over the Six Mile Creek crossing when the woman's car was swept off.
The raging water stopped rescue teams getting into the area until Friday morning - the woman's empty car was found several hours later.
Search teams found the body on Saturday morning two hours after the search resumed.
It was 1.5km downstream from the crossing where her car was swept away.
The highest official reading in the area over a 24-hour period was 464mm at Black Pinch Road between Noosa and Gympie, but there were unofficial reports of up to 700mm falling in five hours.
People around Kin Kin are doing what they can to mop up before more heavy rain, which is forecast for Sunday.
The weather bureau says it's hard to estimate how severe it will be but falls of between 100mm and 200mm could be expected.
Police say Kin Kin remains isolated with all roads either flooded or washed away.
