2011-03-31 09:26

BRISBANE, Australia - Australia's Queensland Police have declared an emergency situation and 14 homes have been evacuated at Hideaway Bay in north Queensland's Whitsundays after heavy rain caused more landslips overnight, local media reported on Thursday.

Up to 600 millimeters of rain has been recorded in the area in the past three days, causing a hill near homes at Hideaway Bay, southeast of Bowen, to become unstable, the Australian Broadcasting Corporation (ABC) reported.

No one has been injured but at least one home has been damaged following a second time mudslide on Wednesday night.  

The first landslide that swept knee-deep mud through a home and a shed in Gloucester Avenue, at Hideaway Bay, south of Bowen, occurred on Tuesday morning.

Whitsunday Mayor Mike Brunker said the hill slipped again about 6:30 p.m. (local time) on Wednesday.

"One landslip has gone through a house in a similar proximity to where the first one happened," he told ABC Radio.

Another landslip nearby had blocked a cul-de-sac, he said.

Police said they evacuated 14 homes in the area on Wednesday night, while 12 households had already chosen to evacuate.

A geotechnical engineer is heading to the site to assess the area.