Down Under Water

Residents of Queensland have been warned that a tropical cyclone (equivalent to an Atlantic hurricane or Pacific typhoon) is forming offshore, threatening more rain for the flood-hit Australian state.

Brisbane is the country's third largest city, but the rural town of Grantham is the 'Ground Zero' of Australia's massive summer flood, which to date has impacted an area the size of South Africa.

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Updated estimates indicate more than 600 people have died as extensive floods and landslides have also devastated densely populated southeastern Brazil, where rescuers in Rio de Janeiro state hauled a woman to safety after being cut off by a mudslide.