The two women who died in the Queensland flooding have been identified by police as 46-year-old mother Tanya Hehir and 40-year-old mother Helen Bradford, per Daily Mail Australia.
The women were “exploring” a storm drain known as ‘The Love Tunnel’ near the Queensland town of Gympie, north of Brisbane, on Boxing Day when they were caught by rising waters and were “washed through” the Mary River at about 2.30pm, according to Queensland Police Acting Superintendent Paul Algie, per ABC News.
He confirmed that one of the explorers made it to safety with “moderate injuries” and called for help.
“We’ve actually assigned a family liaison officer who is in contact with the families of the women involved in this very tragic set of circumstance,” Acting Superintendent Algie said.
Wild weather has killed at least 10 people across Queensland and Victoria, officials say, as the death toll continues to rise.
Earlier this week, the body of a man was found in the Buchan caves campground in eastern Victoria. The man, not yet formally identified, was believed to be camping with a woman who also passed away after flash flooding devastated the area.
In Brisbane, the body of a 9-year-old girl was found on Tuesday after she disappeared in a flooded stormwater drain. Her body was located by police after an extensive search.
Also in Queensland, three men were killed after a large boat capsized near Green Island in Moreton Bay. Queensland Police acting chief superintendent Andrew Pilotto said it was a “horrific event”.
“The conditions were horrific. Visibility would have been down to two metres,” he told media.
“It would have been very difficult to survive in those conditions anywhere, let alone out on Moreton Bay.”
Pilotto said the bodies of two men were recovered from inside the boat and another was found in nearby waters. The men were aged 48, 59 and 69.
On the Gold Coast, a 59-year-old woman was killed by a falling tree on Monday night and in Gympie the bodies of a 40-year-old woman and a 46-year-old woman were found in the Mary River.
A 14-year-old boy also died on the Mary River after disappearing while water tubing on Sunday. The boy was being towed behind a boat when he disappeared from view.
A 19-year-old man remains missing after being swept out to sea at Congo Beach in New South Wales on Tuesday. The man went missing after assisting a family member in rough surf.
Tens of thousands of people have also been left without power, with the thunderstorms bringing down about 1,000 powerlines and disconnecting more than 85,000 people.