Western Downs flooding 2024: Jandowae residents urged to move to higher ground after emergency alert

A new flood warning has been issued in the Western Downs and the Warrego Highway has been closed in a new location, as residents in a flood-affected town prepare to start the clean up. The latest updates here:

UPDATE: The Warrego Highway has been closed in another section, this time in the Western Downs as flood waters start to recede across the region.

The Western Downs Regional Council revealed at 4pm the highway had been closed in both directions at Warra, between Dalby and Chinchilla.

Residents have been urged to review travel plans and limit journeys as much as possible.

It comes as floodwaters begin to recede at Jandowae, but residents have been cautioned not to start cleaning up just yet.

The council said the watch and act warning from earlier on Tuesday had been removed, but access to Jandowae via Dalby-Jandowae Rd had remained closed.

“An inspection of the Jimbour Creek Bridge is required to be undertaken by the Department of Main Roads before it can reopen,” the statement said.

“We understand residents are eager to clean up, however Council’s landfill remains closed due to access and flood impacts.

“We will advise as soon as the landfill is able to be reopened.”

The town of Flinton is still subject to “moderate flooding”, with Nindigully downstream likely to be affected from Wednesday.

Meanwhile, a watch and act warning is still current for Dalby, according to the council.

“Latest advice available from the Bureau predicts the Myall Creek has potential to reach a moderate flood level later tonight (Tuesday),” the council said.

“We encourage people to keep informed, and if you are located in a low-lying area that is prone to flooding, please enact your emergency plans.”
For a full list of affected roads, head to the council website, and for the latest weather updates, head to the BOM site.

The Western Downs town of Jandowae has been inundated with flood water, with waters expected to continue rising.

Earlier: Locals wake to banging on doors from emergency crews

Residents in the Western Downs town of Jandowae woke up in the early hours of Tuesday morning to authorities banging on their doors telling them to seek higher ground as locals slam what they believe to be delayed emergency services warnings of “dangerous flooding”.

More than 150mm of rainfall was recorded in Jandowae overnight, with SES knocking on doors at 2am to tell locals to prepare for flash flooding.

Western Downs mayor Paul McVeigh says both SES and council crews are working to preserve human life in Jandowae right now as floodwaters continue to rise and the main roads in and out of town closed.

Mr McVeigh conceded text alerts did not go out early enough, however he described the in-person doorknocking as the best kind of alert.

“There is more water to come, but hopefully we won’t have more water above the floorboards – we’ve got teams looking to assess the damage,” he said.

“The alerts didn’t go out early enough, but there’s nothing better than having your doors knocked.

“We have a swiftwater crew on-hand and we do have the capacity to look after our people.”

Mr McVeigh said an evacuation centre had not been deemed necessary at this point for the town, but he said the local disaster management group was monitoring the situation closely.

“It’s significant rain in the catchment, the spillway at Jandowae Dam peaked at 1.18m,” he said.

“We are still assessing the situation, we have council crews there.

“We haven’t made a call on that (an evac centre) but we’ll be monitoring that.”

Emergency services responded to reports of a vehicle trapped in flood water further west near Moonie on the Leichhardt Highway.

A Queensland Fire and Emergency Services spokeswoman said crews were called to the scene about 8.07am Tuesday but the first crew only managed to arrive at 9.10am due to the flash flooding caused by heavy overnight rain.

It’s understood that a vehicle was in the water, however the crew was told to stand down after it was revealed everyone was safe and accounted for.

Swift water rescue teams are en route to the scene via helicopter.

The Western Downs town of Jandowae has been inundated with flood water, with waters expected to continue rising.

Jandowae local, Celeste Nelson said floodwaters have risen very quickly, and somewhat unexpectedly.

“Yesterday the dam was virtually empty and now it’s overflowing,” Ms Nelson said.

Water has inundated garages, carports and sheds, but Ms Nelson said that she has not yet heard reports of houses being flooded.

However, the town is expecting another three metres of water from the catchment, which she says will likely push water into homes.

Ms Nelson said although the town had been warned by the Bureau of Meteorology, southwest residents have grown distrustful of forecasts because of past inaccuracies.

Ms Nelson also said she did receive a weather alert this morning at 7.50am, when the town was already partially flooded.

“Something better needs to happen.”

The Western Downs town of Jandowae has been inundated with flood water, with waters expected to continue rising.

Western Downs town ‘cut off’ in all directions as flash flooding continues

Jandowae residents are being forced to hang tight after being cut off from the outside world due to flash flooding.

Retiree Warren Kearney, whose property on Coxen Street leads onto Kingaroy Jandowae Road, said Tuesday’s flood event had closed every main road out of town.

“It came to us so quickly, because the amount of rain (in our gauge) was about 130mm just in one night (and) our catchment area, they must have had a hell of a lot of rain (as well),” he said.

“Our town dam was empty yesterday, once it fills up it goes straight into the creek and that creek overflows into the town.

“We’re cut off in all directions – we can’t get to Chinchilla, Dalby or McAllister (and) the other road up to Durong is all cut, so we’re cut off.

“It will be like this for hours.”

Mr Kearney said the water had completely inundated his front yard, but was cautiously optimistic it wouldn’t reach the house.

“We’re fairly lucky, it’s just our yard,” he said.

“I hope (it doesn’t reach the house), it’s never been that high since we’ve lived here.

“We’ve lived here for just over 10 years and this is the second one we’ve been through, the last one was 2020 and that might’ve been a bit higher.

“I’ve rung a couple of neighbours and they’re safe.”

While Mr Kearney praised emergency services for knocking on his door at 3am, he said a text alert from the Western Downs Regional Council didn’t arrive until 8am.

“We were awake because we could hear the rain, and at 3am the local fireys knocked on the front door,” he said.

“It was great because I could do a few things (to prepare).

“The council sent through a warning, but that wasn’t until 8am.”

A watch and act alert was issued for Jandowae by the Western Downs Regional Council as of 7.30am on Tuesday.

“Floodwater may continue to rise with additional rainfall,” the alert said.

“Residents are advised to warn neighbours, secure belongings, and go to higher ground.

“For more information, listen to local radio or visit disaster.wdrc.qld.gov.au.

“For SES assistance call 132 500. In a life threatening emergency, dial triple-0 (000).”

As of 9am, the town’s state school and aquatic centre are closed, with the SES doorknocking overnight and continuing to receive calls for assistance.

“Council is closely monitoring water supply and is encouraging Jandowae residents to limit water usage where possible, until conditions ease,” the statement said.

Emergency services attended reports of multiple rescues in the Darling Downs, including at Moonie about 4am and Sladevale in the Southern Downs just before 2am.

Floodwaters outside a house in Jandowae, taken by Warren Kearney.

It comes as residents as Flinton and Dalby are also on alert after flood warnings were issued for the Western Downs communities on Tuesday.

The council said there was also a moderate flood warning for the Moonie River at Flinton for this afternoon, and a minor flood warning for the Myall Creek at Dalby.

“The Western Downs has received significant rainfall overnight and there are widespread impacts to roads due to localised flooding,” the statement said.

“The Local Disaster Management Group has moved to STAND UP which means resources have been mobilised to respond to the situation.

“A severe thunderstorm warning with locally intense heavy rainfall is in place for parts of the Western Downs.

“The Warrego Highway west of McAllister is closed. Please review your travel plans and limit your movements where possible.”

For a list of road closures, head to the website.

Originally published as Western Downs flooding 2024: Jandowae residents urged to move to higher ground after emergency alert