Jan 12, 2011 09:03 GMT  ·  By

Queensland's capital in Australia is the scene of the most catastrophic floods since 1974, with 12 people already reported dead and another 67 missing. While images and videos of the natural disaster along the Brisbane River have made it across the world, Bing Maps offers a better way to get a full perspective over the devastation.

Australia’s ninemsn has managed to map the Queensland floods using Bing Maps, clearly illustrating the Brisbane suburbs that are at risk of flooding.

According to reports, the Brisbane river has risen to levels exceeding those of the 1974 floods, with approximately 20,000 houses expected to be hit.

“As many Australians and others around the world have their eye on the catastrophic floods in Queensland, Australia’s ninemsn used Bing Maps’ user collections to map out where the floods have occurred,” revealed Brian Hendricks, Product Manager Bing Maps.

“The collection is a great example of how online maps can be dynamic sources of visual information and context. Simply a list of cities affected by the floods cannot show just how dense of an area or how wide these floods affected.”

A total of 30 suburbs across Brisbane have been inundated, leaving residents scrambling to save what little they can and get their families to safety.

Following the 1974 floods in Queensland, the authorities built a dam west of Brisbane in Wivenhoe, capable of holding in excess of 1 million megaliters of water, but it’s already full, and can no longer help keeping the level of the river down.

In this context, Brisbane residents need to brace themselves for more devastation, unless the rain stops.

"We are preparing for the worst natural disaster in our history," Queensland Premier Anna Bligh stated. Bligh underlined that a model of the natural catastrophe indicates some 19,700 homes will be completely flooded in Brisbane alone.