Where has been hit by Australia’s ‘once-in-a-century’ floods?

Stormy weather causes chaos as it sweeps through eastern parts of country

Tens of thousands have been forced to flee their homes in Australia as a deadly storm swept through the country.

The country has been hit by days of torrential rain and flooding, with at least thirteen people being killed to date.

It has been described as a “once-in-a-century event” and the worst disaster to hit since 2011.

Here is what we know about the extreme weather gripping Australia so far:

Where has been hit?

The storm has been focused on eastern Australia, making its way down from Queensland down into New South Wales.

Lismore, a city just south of Brisbane, has been particularly badly-hit, with at least four people dying from the extreme weather. Three bodies were found in submerged homes, while another was found floating in the flooded town centre.

Areas of Brisbane, the third-most populous city in Australia, were submerged earlier this week, with thousands of properties flooded.

An abandoned car is seen in floodwaters in the suburb of Newmarket in Brisbane (AFP /AFP via Getty Images)

Late Wednesday, the Bureau of Meterology Australia said a “dangerous and life threatening situation” was unfolding in central New South Wales coast as it issued flood warnings.

This included Sydney, which braced for flooding and heavy rainfall on Wednesday night and Thursday morning.

Grant McPherson removes debris from his flood-affected car mechanic business in Lismore (Getty Images)

What has the impact been?

Town centres have been submerged, homes washed away and power disrupted during the storm.

At least thirteen people have been killed as of Wednesday.

The death toll of four in Lismore in New South Wales is expected to increase as police carry out checks on houses. Queensland has also seen deaths - including a 60-year-old whose car was submerged on the Sunshine Coast.

Tens of thousands have been forced to evacuate their homes, while families spent hours on the roofs of their properties in flooded Lismore.

Thousands of properties have been destroyed across eastern Austrlia.

Trasport networks have also been disrupted. At one point, residents and horses were left stranded on a bridge after water submerged both ends.

Discarded furniture outside a flood affected property in Lismore (Getty Images)

How much rain has there been?

A government meteorologist, Jonathan Howe, described the recent rainfall in northern New South Wales and southern Queensland as “astronomical.”

In downtown Brisbane, 792.8 mm of rain was recorded in six days. The city’s lord mayor said this was significantly higher than the previous record of 655.8mm set in devastating flooding in 1974.

A man checks the condition of his aircraft inside a flooded hanger at an air strip in Grafton (AFP via Getty Images)

Rick Threlfall, a British meteorologist now living in Brisbane, said: “Back in the UK, we do weather warnings for 20 mm of rain. My weather gauge here has recorded 950 mm in three days.”

He added: “Brisbane’s average is about 1,200 mm for the year, so we’ve pretty much had 80 per cent of annual rainfall in three days.”

Also in Queensland, more than 300 mm of rain fell within six hours near the city of Gympie last week.

Sydney has been told to prepare for a month’s worth of rainfall in just a few hours.

How long has the extreme weather been going on for?

The storm first hit in Queensland in the middle of last week and has been moving down the country since.

It was expected to continue on Thursday morning, with Sydney forecast to be hit by heavy rainfall.

How does it compare to previous events?

Queensland has experienced its worst flooding in more than a decade.

Brisbane’s lord mayor, Adrian Schrinner, said the floods were “very different” to the last major fooding event in 2011 because the rain pummeled the region for five days.

Annastacia Palaszczuk, the premier of Queensland, said the town of Gympie experienced its second-worst flooding ever.