Fears for missing people as Qld flood assessors calculate damage

Hundreds of homes have been damaged in recent Queensland floods, described as “gut-wrenching” and “soul-destroying” for residents, as farmers brace for more insurance rejections.

Emergency Services Mark Ryan said authorities were also concerned about two missing people.

A man went missing in the Brisbane River at South Bank on Sunday, and fears were held for another person after an abandoned car was found between Stanthorpe and Ballandean.

The first man was seen by witnesses to enter the water at about 3pm on and was not seen to exit.

Kieran Wilson, 26, was last seen on Friday driving away from his Ballandean home, but he has failed to contact family and there were concerns for him given there had been recent flooding in the area. Police were conducting a search and rescue operation from Bents Road, Ballandean.

Speaking in one of the worst-affected regions, Laidley, Ryan said there had been 550 damage assessments across Queensland, including 439 in Lockyer Valley.

Emergency crews performed a flood rescue in Laidley in the Lockyer Valley, west of Brisbane, on Friday morning. Credit: Instagram

He said major flood warnings remained on several rivers and creeks, including the Mary River and Condamine River.

Lockyer Valley Mayor Tanya Milligan said the flood in the region had been gut-wrenching, soul-destroying and emotional, adding that people were fatigued after the flood in February.

“I spoke with a gentleman from Grantham today and you’ve got the impact from the previous event, and he said to me about 90 per cent of our farmers had their insurance claims rejected,” she said.

Lockyer Valley Mayor Tanya Milligan.Credit: Tony Moore

“You’ve got farmers who may very well have planted after the last event. We haven’t had much sunshine, so those crops are going to rot in the ground.

“A lot of those farmers were hoping, depending on that [insurance]. We will have farmers who have no intention to replant and have sent their labourers home and aren’t even thinking about doing anything to 2023.

“You have people who have lost absolutely everything and they would be wondering, is it all worth it?

“I don’t know how quickly they will recover.”

Milligan said she could not estimate the cost of damage, except that it would be in the “millions”.

After the February flood, she had said it would cost $20 million.

Ryan said the Mount Crosby water treatment plant was at reduced capacity, and asked Brisbane residents to conserve water if they could.

Several roads were damaged and were still closed on Monday.