Brisbane flood forces tech company evacuations

A number of major Australian technology companies were forced to evacuate Brisbane staff from their premises as rising flood waters threatened the city's central business district.

Around 2000 Telstra staff left the company's Brisbane facilities, with the location of its headquarters in the city particularly being an issue. "Because of the proximity of our George Street building in Brisbane to the Brisbane River we have advised staff to go home," spokesperson Craig Middleton said on Tuesday. "We've also ensured that any business-critical functions have been transferred to other Telstra locations."

Telstra spokesperson Elouise Campion told AAP that the situation had been "scary" — staff could see the river beginning to burst its banks and onto a garden area. Optus, too, evacuated its staff, although the telco wasn't sure of the exact number of who went home. Microsoft also told its employees to start working from home, according to a post on Twitter from Microsoft Australia's general manager Pip Marlow on Tuesday.

For more on this ZDNet UK-selected story, see Brisbane tech businesses empty out on ZDNet Australia.