Cyclone Oswald batters Australia, four dead

Four people have died and thousands have been evacuated from their homes as flooding caused by the remains of tropical cyclone Oswald battered the east coast of Australia.

High winds, including mini-tornadoes, and torrential rain have lashed large parts of southern Queensland and are moving south to the country’s most populous state, New South Wales.

In Queensland, all eyes were on the city of Bundaberg, 300km north of Brisbane, as it prepared for unprecedented flooding after the Burnett river burst its banks.

Mandatory evacuation orders were issued in parts of the city, which has a population of 100,000. Helicopters worked throughout yesterday to rescue people cut off by rising waters which were flowing at more than 70km/h, making rescue by boat virtually impossible.