Six people have been injured, two critically, in a series of tornadoes that hit Queensland on Saturday afternoon.
The three tornadoes swept in from the Coral Sea a few hours apart, hitting the wider Bundaberg region, about 400 km north of Brisbane.
The first tornado tore into the coastal settlement of Bargara, tearing roofs from buildings and bringing down powerlines.
At least six people were injured, two of them critically when a tree fell on their car.
A Bargara resident, Sandy Horton, said he had never seen anything like it.
"Absolutely dumbfounding what it done in 35, 40 seconds. Gone, that's it, you know? The damage it done and the way it travelled is extraordinary."
The second tornado hit Burnett Heads, north of Bundaberg, damaging at least 150 homes, before a third swept in to Coonarr, south of Bundaberg.
Residents in the wider district are being told to stay inside and 10,000 homes and businesses are without power. Electricity companies say it may be two days before their homes are reconnected.
A disaster situation has been declared.
The local MP and state Police Minister Jack Dempsey said that to have three tornadoes was "catastrophic".
Disaster situation declared in areas of flooding
A disaster situation has also been declared south of the coastal town of Gladstone as torrential rain from ex-tropical cyclone Oswald continues to create havoc in central and southern Queensland.
The storm remained almost stationary through Friday night after causing flood chaos in northern and central areas.
The Queensland Premier was meeting with disaster authorities in Brisbane on Saturday to discuss the situation.
The State Emergency Service says residents in the towns of Jambin and Goovigen, inland from Gladstone, have evacuated to local schools because two nearby dams are experiencing an 'unprecedented' outflow of water.
A record 5m of water was rushing over the spillway at Awoonga Dam, south of Gladstone.
Telstra says work is underway to fix a fibre optic cable affecting phone and internet services in the region, north to Mackay and west to Mt Isa.
Meanwhile the search continues for a missing fisherman, after the body of a 60-year old man was found washed up on Balaclava Island, halfway between Gladstone and Rockhampton, on Saturday morning.
The pair disappeared during wild weather on Thursday night.
