Brisbane flooding peaks below levels feared

DEADLY floods in Australia’s third-biggest city were peaking below the levels Brisbane had feared, but the state premier said they would require a reconstruction effort of “post-war proportions”.

The floods have so far killed at least 17 people, left 43 missing and caused billions of dollars of damage in Queensland state. One central bank economist has warned that it could cut the GDP measure of national income by as much as 1%.

“The Brisbane river has now reached its peak,” police said in a statement, as an official weather bureau flood gauge in the centre of the city of two million showed a depth of 4.45 metres.