Three dead in Australian floods

At least three people have died and thousands more have been evacuated as flooding continues to hit Australia's east coast.

A man drowned after his car was swept away, south of Brisbane, and a woman died after she was stranded by rising floodwater in the Blue Mountains.

A 12-year-old boy drowned when his mother's car was washed into a swollen creek at Lawnton, near Brisbane.

Australia's weather bureau says the floods are caused by storms which dumped up to 250 millimetres of rain and whipped up gale force winds.

Australian Defence Force helicopters and boats have been deployed to assist in emergency evacuations.

Reports say 12,000 people have been evacuated in New South Wales and Queensland since Friday.