Flash flooding claims another life in Australia

Australia's flood crisis deepened Monday, with hundreds forced to flee their homes in the rich agricultural land of the southeast and a man swept to his death by surging waters in Queensland.

Days of heavy rain have hammered the eastern states of Queensland, New South Wales and Victoria, swelling rivers, flooding farmland and forcing the closure of bridges and roads.

Emergency officials said Monday they were concerned about the Riverina region in southwest New South Wales, where the Murrumbidgee river has burst its banks in some areas and inundated homes near Wagga Wagga.

"It's still a very dangerous situation right across the region," State Emergency Service spokesman James McTavish said of the district where more than 1,000 people have been ordered to evacuate their homes.

Downstream at Gundagai, about 30 homes and businesses have been flooded, with the water surpassing levels reached during a 2010 flood.

The waters have left several river systems dangerously swollen and more than 4,600 people subject to evacuation orders in New South Wales, with 2,500 stranded.

Authorities again warned people against driving their cars through floodwaters after more than 30 rescues overnight, including that of two adults and three children who had been trapped in a car in Wagga Wagga.

One man died at Araluen in southern New South Wales at the weekend after being washed downstream as he attempted to drive through floodwaters. His two companions were rescued, one reportedly clinging to a tree.

The toll rose Monday after a man died when his car was swept off a road in heavy flooding in the southeast Queensland town of Glenwood, near Gympie.

Police said they had been unable to confirm a report that a second vehicle was also swept away.

Several small towns in the north of Victoria state were bracing for waters to peak.