Floods curtail services in Queensland

The escalating flood crisis is restricting banking services in south-east Queensland and, in the case of Suncorp, putting its call centres out of action at a time of very high demand.

Yesterday Suncorp advised customers that its "personal insurance call centres are located in affected areas in Queensland" - meaning Brisbane - and that "we have taken steps to ensure the safety of our employees. As a result, we are unable to take calls at present."

Suncorp said it had set up customer response teams to serve flood-affected regional areas using wireless communications. These would operate as "self-sustainable claims centres," it said.

It isn't clear how many branches of Suncorp and Bank of Queensland have had to close.

Last night the major banks posted lists of branches closed in south-east Queensland. Around 160 are affected.

Some branches are also closed in northern NSW.