Army Black Hawk helicopters were drafted in on Sunday as flooding on Australia's east coast sent hundreds of families to evacuation centers and threatened to inundate thousands of homes, officials said. A 27-year-old man is missing after being swept away in a raging river and a sailor drowned after his yacht was yanked from its moorings by cyclonic winds, according to a report of DPA. The river that runs through Bundaberg, 370 kilometres north of Brisbane, is expected to peak at its highest level since 1893. Thousands are in evacuation centers and water has already gone through 40 houses. Residents are being told to expect several nights in makeshift accommodation. Queensland state premier Campbell Newman said he expected more than 400 homes and businesses in Bundaberg to be inundated when the Burnett River reaches its record peak of an estimated 8.5 metres.
