Brisbane residents are being advised to move to higher ground as heavy rains continue to pour in the state as authorities fear that the death toll from the floodwaters will continue to rise.

"There is no doubt we are now in a very different disaster," Anna Bligh, premier of Queensland said in a statement. She said that cars, houses and roads were washed away as flash floods tore through the Great Dividing Range area and swept through isolated towns in south and killing at least eight people while leaving 72 missing.

Those living in Brisbane’s West End have been told by police to move to higher ground since waters in the Brisbane River are expected to peak tomorrow. Police also issued warnings to residents in the low-lying areas of Strathpine and Caboolture."We're preparing for the worst so we've put out the suggestion to move to higher ground," said a police spokeswoman.

The devastating floods in Queensland have dealt a heavy economic blow to the state; damaging infrastructure and stalling deliveries for its coal and mining industries in addition to cutting tourism numbers. The state has pegged that economic damage could amount to US$4.96 billion. Its massive coal industry is said to be bleeding A$480 million a week due to damage caused by the floods to its mining pits says the Australia & New Zealand Banking Group Ltd.

Overall, economists predict the disaster will cut 0.2 to 0.25 percentage points from the country’s gross domestic product for the last quarter of 2010 and the first quarter of this year.