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Two people were missing and the body of a third person was recovered from raging floodwaters as severe storms pounded northeastern Australia on Sunday, forcing more than 1,000 to flee their homes.

Army aircraft were deployed in the northern state of Queensland, where storms generated by former tropical cyclone Oswald unleashed punishing rains and localized tornadoes and floodwaters threatened several major towns.

At Gympie, north of Brisbane, three families had been forced to retreat to the roofs of their homes and had been awaiting rescue for more than seven hours after helicopters could not reach them due to the winds, town mayor Ron Dyne said.

A 27-year-old man was missing after he tried to cross a swollen creek near Gympie, and state Premier Campbell Newman said there were serious concerns for another young woman.

"Emergency services are searching for a young woman who reportedly drove into waters near Pacific Haven this morning, and we have grave fears for her safety," Newman told reporters.

Separately, police said the body of an elderly man who went to check on a yacht had been recovered from waters north of Bundaberg, where the engorged Burnett River broke its banks and was expected to engulf 300 homes.

Bundaberg was among dozens of towns devastated by floods in Queensland two years ago, which claimed 35 lives. Newman said residents there were bracing for the river to peak above 9 meters, well in excess of the 7.92m seen in 2011.

Further north at Gladstone, about 900 homes had been evacuated and several towns in the region were already isolated by the rising waters.

Across the state some 58,000 homes were without power and that number was growing by the hour, according to Newman.

Prime Minister Julia Gillard said the emergency had revived "memories of the floods of two summers ago" which she said were "still fresh".

The Insurance Council of Australia declared a statewide catastrophe, noting there had already been "severe inundation ... in several towns and cities" and that major flood warnings had been issued.

A staggering 1-1.5 meters of rain was estimated to have fallen since the storms began.

（中國日報網英語點津 Helen 編輯）

About the broadcaster:

Emily Cheng is an editor at China Daily. She was born in Sydney, Australia and graduated from the University of Sydney with a degree in Media, English Literature and Politics. She has worked in the media industry since starting university and this is the third time she has settled abroad - she interned with a magazine in Hong Kong 2007 and studied at the University of Leeds in 2009.