Tragic update in search for missing Chinese tourists after their car was found in Queensland floodwaters
Two bodies have been found inside a 4WD during the urgent search for two backpackers who disappeared in flood-ravaged Queensland.
The Chinese nationals - a 26-year-old man and 23-year-old woman - were travelling from Brisbane to the North Burnett region.
Their last phone signal pinged on Sunday night in Kilkivan, west of Gympie, which has been hit by heavy rain and flooding in recent days.
The pair were reported missing on Wednesday after they failed to arrive at their destination for farm work.
It sparked a wide-scale ground and aerial search involving police and SES crews, which later found their silver Subaru Forester in floodwaters near Kilkivan.
Police said on Thursday morning that two bodies were found inside the 4WD.
Kilkivan is located within the Burnett River catchment, which peaked at 7.4metres on Wednesday morning and remains at a major flood level.
Police issued a Public Safety Preservation Act declaration for Chinchilla due to the danger posed by rising floods.
The bodies of two missing Chinese tourists were found inside their flooded 4WD
The pair were reported missing on Wednesday after they failed to arrive at their destination for farm work (pictured, their flooded Subaru Forester)
The disappearance sparked a wide-scale ground and aerial search involving police and SES
A shelter was opened at Chinchilla Showgrounds while officers door-knocked homes to urge at-risk residents to evacuate.
Western Downs Mayor Andrew Smith said the region saw 260mm of rain in 48 hours.
'The predictions for this water level are at least half a metre lower than 2010-2011, so we're not expecting the same impacts, and we always have to remember that a prediction is just a prediction,' he said.
Rockhampton Mayor Tony Williams said that his council was on alert for potential flooding as upper catchments move downstream.
'At this stage we are monitoring those levels upstream and seeing how they move down. We'll continue to do that over the next week and respond should we need to,' he said.
Bundaberg Regional Council Mayor Helen Blackburn warned recovery from the flood damage 'could take months'.
'We're thinking a few hundred homes and properties have been impacted at this stage,' she said.
'Until we get some vision from Polair, who will be flying over the north side and providing streaming to council, we won't know exactly what's gone on over there.
Police are seen during the search for two Chinese tourists in the Burnett region
Major flooding has affected large parts of central and southwest Queensland (pictured are SES volunteers in southwest Queensland)
Bundaberg locals were told to prepare for the worst in terms of flood damage (pictured is the Burnett River)
'They will be monitoring, they'll be making sure that any isolated properties up and down the river are reviewed and we're making sure that people are safe.'
The Emergency Alert for Bundaberg was downgraded to Watch and Act on Wednesday night but residents were told not to return to flooded areas.
Premier David Crisafulli urged the community to prepare for the worst.
'The impacts on homes and businesses won't be to the same number as we've seen before, but the impacts and the magnitude will hit home and hit hard very, very hard for a number of people,' he said.
'This community is resilient, it's tough, it bounces back from disasters as well as anywhere in the nation. That doesn't mean it should be left on its own.
'They need help and help they are going to get.'
About 2,000 homes around Bundaberg were without power on Wednesday.
