Australian floods: Your stories

The Australian city of Rockhampton is bracing itself for a peak in flood levels. In other areas of Queensland, residents are beginning the recovery process.

BBC News website readers in Queensland told us what had been happening in their towns on Tuesday.

Kathryn Griffiths, Rockhampton

Interviewed at 1300 GMT, 2300 local time

My husband and I are from Rhondda in Wales and only just managed to escape Rockhampton a few days ago.

Kathryn Griffiths: "This house near the Fitzroy River in Rockhampton was one of the first to be flooded."

We were stuck there for four days and tried to get out by coach and by flying but there were no buses running and the flight we booked last minute was cancelled.

We managed to get a bus out of the city by the skin of our teeth with the police gathering to close off one of the final roads out of the city.

If it was 10 minutes later we would have been stuck there for possibly weeks.

Thanks to our bus driver putting his foot down, getting us all onto the bus with our luggage and hot footing it to the almost flooded road we would have been stranded.

Locals then helped us get accommodation.

My husband and I are on a four month trip to the pacific. The floods came just two weeks into our trip to Australia and definitely made things a little more interesting!

Trudi Reed, Rockhampton

Interviewed at 1100 GMT, 2100 local time

Trudi Reed: "The water level is getting close to our power box."

The water has come in to our house a fair bit since Monday and there is now three feet standing at the bottom of the home and in our back yard.

We live in what's known as a Queenslander it is a house where the main living area is raised above the ground. So we've avoided the worst of it but the water has destroyed the kids' toys and several pieces of furniture we were planning to sell.

We had a very hot day today, so the water has been very smelly. It's mixed with pesticides and diesel and whatever else people were keeping underneath their houses. The water is also attracting a lot of mosquitoes.

We've been trying to keep the kids away from the standing water. As a result they're getting a bit of cabin fever. I've rowed them out of the house a couple of times on a boat we have. I also use the boat to row out to our car which we're keeping on higher ground.

It's very quiet in Rockhampton at the moment, a lot of businesses and restaurants have shut down. And a number of independent fuel stations have closed because they can't get the fuel supplies. My office was flooded and so I've had to work from home.

We've been told the water is going to peak overnight and into the next day. I think everyone in the town has just had enough of it.

Tonight is the crunch point because the water level is getting close to our power box.

My husband and I will be getting up every couple of hours throughout the night to check the water doesn't reach the power. If it gets too close we've been told to call in the electricity company to shut the power down.

Angela Gorge, Berserker

Interviewed at 0830 GMT, 1830 local time

I moved to Berserker, Rockhampton from England, with my family, two years ago.

Angela Gorge: "We saw a snake in the water that is in the front garden. It scared my daughter."

Our house is a Queenslander house so it's raised above the ground and we only have 50cm of water around and under our house.

We still have electricity, gas and water but to go anywhere we have to wade through the water - which is annoying - but compared to the poor residents of Depot Hill who have lost everything it is just inconvenient.

There is a great community spirit with neighbours helping each other. The locals are used to the floods but we aren't, so we find it a bit scary. Our neighbours have been great though.

We saw a snake in the water that is in front garden two days ago which really scared my 10-year-old daughter, Mariah.

Everyone is preparing for the next 24 hours as it's expected to peak. We moved all our stuff from outside, under the house and in the shed about a week ago when the floods first began.

Our neighbour, who works for the council had a look at our electricity box and said we should be ok, the box is high enough and out of reach of the water even if it is to rise to nine and a half metres as predicted.

It was strange the way it first happened. We live near a creek and it just got higher and higher. Then the water came through the drains and across the surface of the land.

It is a sad tragedy for many but it really highlights the enormous community spirit here in our neighbourhood.

Your stories: Monday 3 January