Australia's biggest floods in a century have so far killed 16 people since starting their onslaught across northern mining state Queensland last month, crippling the coking coal industry, destroying infrastructure, putting a brake on the economy and sending the local currency to four-week lows.
The flood surge was expected to peak in Brisbane, a riverside city of two million people, before sunrise on Thursday and last for days.
"We are in the grip of a very serious natural disaster," Queensland state Premier Anna Bligh said, predicting almost 20,000 homes could be flooded at the river's peak.
"Brisbane will go to sleep tonight and wake up to scenes many will never have seen before in their lives," she warned.
The flood peak hit Ipswich, a satellite town to the west, late Wednesday. More than 1,500 Ipswich residents sheltered in evacuation centers, but others fled homes with little more than what they are wearing, as flood waters rose around the city.
Ipswich Mayor Paul Pisasale said the flood peaked at 19.4 meters, about a meter below expectations, saving some 6,000 homes from flooding. "It's the difference between bad news and devastation," he said.
