Queensland: More than 70 high school students were rescued in Queensland, Australia, on Friday after they were left stranded on a school camping trip by the wild weather that has beaten a path of destruction across parts of the state.
Rescue boats picked up 72 high school students, along with four teachers and four guides, from the Harrry's Hut nature reserve near Noosa when heavy rain and a rising tide left the group trapped on the coast.
One person in the group suffered minor injuries.
Police said the quick thinking of teachers and guides in calling for help prevented a tragedy.
The skipper and crew of racing yacht 'Ausmaid' were also rescued - plucked from wild seas off Queensland's Noosa Heads.
Ausmaid, a dual Sydney to Hobart yacht race winner, was smashed by a huge wave and flipped over in heavy seas.
Local broadcaster Channel Seven aired dramatic pictures of the crew being winched to safety by a rescue helicopter.
The crew escaped any major injuries and the yacht's owner's are confident it will be salvaged.
Meanwhile, up to two thousand people remain isolated after torrential rain brought widespread flooding to the New South Wales (NSW) mid-north coast around Coffs Harbour earlier this week.
The flood-ravaged Clarence Valley is the latest area in the region to be declared a natural disaster area - joining Coffs Harbour, Bellingen and Nambucca Heads.
It is the second time in just six weeks the region has been declared a disaster zone, following heavy rain in February.
About 1,500 residents remain isolated upstream from Bellingen, in the towns of Thora and Darkwood, and in communities in the Kalang Valley.
The State Emergency Service (SES) said flood waters had receded on Friday but people would remain isolated until sections of main roads, washed away in the storms, were repaired.
Another 300 residents are cut off near the Orara River and 180 on the Macleay River, which are at minor flood levels and falling.
The SES expects access to be restored to both areas by Friday afternoon.
However, the Bureau of Meteorology has forecast increasing showers for the Coffs Harbour area on Saturday and possible rain for Sunday.
Emergency workers said they were not expecting problems to emerge on the far-north coast of NSW but will be ready in the Coffs Harbour area over the weekend for another possible "major event".
The State Emergency Service said it has already responded to 1,210 requests for assistance in the region since Monday.
The damage bill has so far exceed 27 million Australian dollars (19.3 million US dollars), with the Insurance Council of Australia saying more than two thousand claims have been lodged.