Hospitality businesses in Brisbane, from hotels and pubs, to restaurants and cafes, have been devastated by rising flood waters in the disaster hit city. Major accommodation hotels including the Stamford Plaza and Marriot were closed and the Hilton was on alert as water entered its basement areas.

The Brisbane River is usually a placid body of water that flows through Australia's third largest city and expels into Moreton Bay without incident. But on Wednesday, Brisbane was swamped. Weeks of heavy rainfall, combined with discharge from a swollen dam, transformed the river into a raging torrent, forcing thousands to evacuate their homes in the worst flooding the region has seen in 36 years.

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