Sharks in the streets of Brisbane

I doubt if there are sharks in the streets of Brisbane...but: The bull shark, Carcharhinus leucas, also known as Zambezi shark or unofficially known as Zambi in Africa and Nicaragua shark in Nicaragua, is a shark common worldwide in warm, shallow waters along coasts and in rivers. The bull shark is well known for its unpredictable, often aggressive behavior. Since bull sharks often dwell in shallow waters, they may be more dangerous to humans than any other species of shark, and, along with tiger sharks and great white sharks, are among the three shark species most likely to attack humans.

News.Scotsman.com: Sharks in the streets of Brisbane

The flood-ravaged Australian state of Queensland is in the grip of a "very serious natural disaster", its leaders told the world yesterday - with reports of bull sharks now inhabiting its flooded streets.

The state capital of Brisbane is facing its worst devastation in more than 100 years as high tides and heavy rain combine to leave some streets under 15ft of water.

Residents woke up to the worst of the devastation yesterday as emergency services battled to bring under control a situation which has already claimed 21 lives in Queensland.

Australian Prime Minister Julia Gillard called the disaster's scale "mind-boggling" and warned that the death toll will rise.

Queensland's premier Anna Bligh warned: "We are now in the grip of a very serious natural disaster.

"We are now seeing thousands of homes inundated with water up to the roof. Many, many more are expected to see significant water damage."

She said 20,000 to 30,000 people would be affected in Brisbane.

Although the flood peak could be below the 1974 level, Ms Bligh added: "This is still a major event. The city is much bigger, much more populated and has many parts underwater."

Unprecedented rainfall over much of the north-east Australian state has already devastated scores of towns and cities.

The surging waters in Brisbane's empty city centre reached the tops of traffic lights and have left at least 20,000 homes in danger of being inundated.

A little about Brisbane:
Brisbane is the capital and most populous city in the Australian state of Queensland and the third most populous city in Australia. Brisbane's metropolitan area has an approximate population of 2 million. A resident of Brisbane is commonly known as a "Brisbanite.

Brisbane as it was before the flooding:

10 Dead, 78 Missing in Australian Flash Floods

Australia is a big continent, and hopefully everyone knows where it is, but exactly where are these flash floods taking place?

BRISBANE, Australia -- Greg Kowald was driving through the center of Toowoomba when a terrifying, tsunami-like wall of water roared through the streets of the northeast Australian city.

Office windows exploded, cars careened into trees and bobbed in the churning brown water like corks. The deluge washed away bridges and sidewalks; people desperately clung to power poles to survive. Before it was over, the flash flood left at least 10 dead and 78 missing.

"The water was literally leaping, six or 10 feet into the air, through creeks and over bridges and into parks," Kowald, a 53-year-old musician, told The Associated Press on Tuesday. "There was nowhere to escape, even if there had been warnings. There was just a sea of water about a kilometer (half a mile) wide."

The violent surge in Toowoomba brought the overall death toll from weeks of flooding in Queensland state to 20, a sudden acceleration in a crisis that had been unfolding gradually with swollen rivers overflowing their banks and inundating towns while moving toward the ocean. Queensland Premier Anna Bligh said there were "grave fears" for at least 18 of those missing.

So, where's Queensland?
It's the area in orange in the map below:

Queensland, a state of Australia, occupies the north-eastern section of the mainland continent. It is bordered by the Northern Territory to the west, South Australia to the south-west and New South Wales to the south. To the east, Queensland is bordered by the Coral Sea and Pacific Ocean. The state is Australia's second largest by area, following Western Australia, and the country's third most populous after New South Wales and Victoria.

As you can see from the map below, Towoomba is located in the southeast corner of the state.