Floodwaters have cut off communities across northeast Australia after heavy rain caused rivers to burst their banks, with one person confirmed dead and thousands of others forced from their homes. The Queensland state government declared a natural disaster in the southern part of the state on Friday after days of heavy rain caused widespread flooding. The town of Townsville was particularly badly hit by the floods, which left one man dead and thousands of residents without power. Major flooding has also hit the nearby Gulf region. Local authorities say they have received more than 100 requests for assistance from people needing to evacuate their homes because of rising floodwaters. Queensland's state premier, Annastacia Palaszczuk, urged locals not to walk through floodwaters. "Everyone in this community is hurting and no one feels that more than the Townsville City Council," she said. "There has been a lot of damage caused by these floods." The Bureau of Meteorology has warned that there will be more rain over the next few days, with some parts of Queensland seeing up to 10 millimeters (0.4 inches) of rainfall. Floodwaters have cut off communities across northeast Australia after heavy rain caused rivers to burst their banks, with one person confirmed dead and thousands of others forced from their homes. The Queensland state government declared a natural disaster in the southern part of the state on Friday after days of heavy rain caused widespread flooding. The town of Townsville was particularly badly hit by the floods, which left one man dead and thousands of residents without power. Major flooding has also hit the nearby Gulf region. Local authorities say they have received more than 100 requests for assistance from people needing to evacuate their homes because of rising floodwaters. Queensland's state premier, Annastacia Palaszczuk, urged locals not to walk through floodwaters. "Everyone in this community is hurting and no one feels that more than the Townsville City Council," she said. "There has been a lot of damage caused by these floods." The Bureau of Meteorology has warned that there will be more rain over the next few days, with some parts of Queensland seeing up to 10 millimeters (0.4 inches) of rainfall.

Floodwaters have cut off communities across northeast Australia after heavy rain caused rivers to burst their banks, with one person confirmed dead and thousands of others forced from their homes. The Queensland state government declared a natural disaster in the southern part of the state on Friday after days of heavy rain caused widespread flooding. The town of Townsville was particularly badly hit by the floods, which left one man dead and thousands of residents without power. Major flooding has also hit the nearby Gulf region. Local authorities say they have received more than 100 requests for assistance from people needing to evacuate their homes because of rising floodwaters. Queensland's state premier, Annastacia Palaszczuk, urged locals not to walk through floodwaters. "Everyone in this community is hurting and no one feels that more than the Townsville City Council," she said. "There has been a lot of damage caused by these floods." The Bureau of Meteorology has warned that there will be more rain over the next few days, with some parts of Queensland seeing up to 10 millimeters (0.4 inches) of rainfall. Floodwaters have cut off communities across northeast Australia after heavy rain caused rivers to burst their banks, with one person confirmed dead and thousands of others forced from their homes. The Queensland state government declared a natural disaster in the southern part of the state on Friday after days of heavy rain caused widespread flooding. The town of Townsville was particularly badly hit by the floods, which left one man dead and thousands of residents without power. Major flooding has also hit the nearby Gulf region. Local authorities say they have received more than 100 requests for assistance from people needing to evacuate their homes because of rising floodwaters. Queensland's state premier, Annastacia Palaszczuk, urged locals not to walk through floodwaters. "Everyone in this community is hurting and no one feels that more than the Townsville City Council," she said. "There has been a lot of damage caused by these floods." The Bureau of Meteorology has warned that there will be more rain over the next few days, with some parts of Queensland seeing up to 10 millimeters (0.4 inches) of rainfall.