Sometimes in the reports of national disasters individual stories get overlooked.Last Monday Donna Rice went shopping with her 13-year-old son Jordan for a new school uniform. He was to start in high school in two weeks' time. Jordan's younger brother, 10-year-old Blake, went along.
As they were driving back to their home in the Australian town of Toowoomba, west of Brisbane, floodwater met them. Their car stalled, and wouldn't restart. Donna used her mobile phone to telephone triple zero - the number for Australia's emergency services - but the water was rising faster than the emergency services could reach them.
The mother and the two boys climbed on to the roof of the car. A lorry driver with a rope tied round him managed to reach the car and attempted to rescue Jordan. Although Jordan could not swim and was terrified of water, he insisted the man rescue his younger brother and his mother first.
The man got Blake to safety. Donna and Jordan were holding on to a rope, but before the man could get back, the rope broke and they floated away.
The two managed to catch hold of a tree until Jordan could hold on no longer. When he let go, his mother let go to try to save him. Both were swept away to their deaths.
Said Jordan's father, John Tyson: "Jordan can't swim and is terrified of water. But when the man went to rescue him, he said 'Save my brother first.' I can only imagine what was going on inside to give up his life to save his brother, even though he was petrified of water. He is our little hero."
Jordan's older brother Kyle said Jordan was really shy with people outside the family and wouldn't say a word to them - "but when it came to the rest of his family, well, he'd do anything for them."
That evening, Donna was due to make a birthday meal for the children's father.
