Free legal services for flood victims

Hundreds of lawyers from across the state have begun providing free legal advice to flood-affected Queenslanders trying to get their lives back on track.

Flood Legal Help is a service specifically offered to flood-affected Queenslanders. Legal practitioners will be available for free consultations for flood victims in communities including Brisbane, Ipswich, Toowoomba, Rockhampton, Bundaberg, Chinchilla and Emerald.

Contact Flood Legal Help on 1300 65 11 88 for legal advice over the phone or to arrange a face-to-face consultation. Alternatively, consultations could be arranged at any of the government's numerous community recovery centres.

Flood Legal Help is a collaborative project involving:

* Department of Justice and Attorney-General
* Legal Aid Queensland
* Queensland Law Society
* Bar Association of Queensland
* Queensland Association of Independent Legal Services
* Queensland Public Interest Law Clearing House
* Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Legal Service.

A full list of community recovery centres is available at www.qld.gov.au/floods

http://www.legalaid.qld.gov.au/floods/Pages/default.aspx

Queensland Flood Image Stream

See above for a series of Images of the Queensland flood of Janaury 2011.

Ipswich: submerged but surviving

Ipswich breathed a sigh of relief as the Bremer River peaked below expected levels however a third of the Queensland city is under water.

The peak came just after 4pm yesterday and floodwaters appear to have declined, leaving a mass of debris behind.

Authorities say the peak came in at 19.5m, which was slightly below the 1974 level, and well under the original peak prediction of 22m. The lower than expected flooding meant that at least a further 1000 properties were spared the same fate as the already 3000 houses that currently sit under water.

By late yesterday afternoon, more than 1100 people had registered at evacuation centres throughout the city and authorities were expecting a surge of people to register last night.

Ipswich Mayor, Cr Paul Pisasale advised that 43 streets had been closed due to the flooding, with many of them under more than 6 feet of water.

After days of torrential rain, yesterday dawned with a blue sky, a sign of hope.

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