WELLINGTON, New Zealand -- Monsoon rains unleashed flooding in Australia’s Queensland that have claimed the lives of two people as the week-long deluge dropped months of rainfall in a few days, devastating small rural towns on the state’s north coast.

Flood waters are rising in the Australian state of Queensland after heavy rainfall. The area between Townsville and Cairns in the north-east is particularly badly affected - a region that is also very popular with tourists.

Fast-moving floodwaters rose Monday in northeastern Australia after forcing many to flee, blacking out homes, and sweeping away a chunk of a critical bridge.

Record-breaking floods across north Queensland have now turned deadly, with one woman drowning while being rescued on Sunday morning. And the floodwaters are still rising, with rain set to continue.

Authorities are warning deadly flooding in northern Queensland is expected to worsen. More than a metre of rain has fallen between Townsville and Innisfail in the past five days due to a slow-moving monsoon trough.