Mud Army volunteers help Brisbane’s flood clean up, severe storms forecast for Sunday

A severe storm warning has been issued for parts of South East Queensland for Sunday as the Deputy Premier delivers a blunt message for people looting in flood-affected areas.

The Deputy Premier has issued a grave warning for those trying to benefit from Queensland’s flood devastation as two people remain missing and volunteers show up in droves to help with the clean up.

It comes as the Bureau of Meteorology warns severe thunderstorms are likely to hit South East Queensland throughout Sunday afternoon and evening.

The warning covers areas including Bundaberg, Gympie, Brisbane and the Lockyer Valley.

Heavy rainfall, damaging winds and large hail are all possible.

Senior meteorologist at the bureau, Steven Hadley, said the potential for flash flooding was “the major concern”.

“Showers and thunderstorms are very likely to fire up over southeast Queensland from the late morning onwards, peaking in the afternoon with some activity lasting well into the evening,” Mr Hadley said.

“These will bring localised damaging winds, large hail and locally heavy rainfall which may lead to flash flooding and the risk of very dangerous storms,” he said.

He warned that storms could also form further up towards Queensland’s central coast.

“The potential for flash flooding is a particular concern as many catchments across southeast Queensland are now saturated,” Mr Hadley said.

“The major concern is flash flooding, a lot of these areas are very vulnerable at the moment.”

Two people remain missing after Queensland’s flood crisis and ten lives have been lost by the floods.

Deputy Premier Steven Miles said more arrests were made overnight after people were found looting in the Milton area, as he issued a warning that looting would not be tolerated.

He said police would arrest anyone caught looting.

“There are 120 police on land, air and water enforcing and protecting the communities that have been affected by these floods,” he said.

Deputy Premier of Queensland Steven Miles said it was disappointing police had caught people looting. Picture: NCA NewsWire/Tertius Pickard

“If you think that this is your opportunity to go and loot those areas, you are wrong.

“The police will catch and arrest you.”

He said the BOM was predicting more thunderstorms to the north, but could hit the South East later on Sunday.

He urged people to keep an eye on the forecasts although storms were likely to be localised.

The number of homes damaged was expected to be in the thousands. Mr Miles said the housing department was working with people to find accommodation but it was “very challenging” given the current rental crisis.

Thousands remained without power as of 5pm Saturday.

Across southeast Queensland 3,778 Energex customers were affected, with some Brisbane suburbs bearing the brunt of the outages.

Rocklea had 688 homes without power, Milton had 624, and Auchenflower, Chelmer, Clayfield, Coopers Plains, Deagon, Graceville, Herston, Oxley, St Lucia, and Toowong also had hundreds of outages.

Logan City had 284 customers affected.

Energex spokesman Justin Coomber said residences affected by the floods had to be certified by a licensed electrician before they could be reconnected.

“The last thing we want is for someone to have an electrical shock because things haven’t been restored safely,” he said.

Mr Miles said energy workers had set themselves a deadline to restore power to everyone by close of business Sunday.

“You’ll have seen that the Prime Minister has approved our request for matched Commonwealth funding of our more than half a billion dollar flood recovery program targeted at small businesses, not for profit organisations, primary producers and clubs,” Mr Miles said.

“Businesses can now apply for up to $50,000 of support from that program.”

He said primary producers could apply for up to $75,000 of funding and sporting clubs $20,000.

People can apply for grants via the Queensland Rural and Industry Development Authority by visiting qrida.qld.gov.au or by calling 1800 623 946.

Mr Miles said there were 321 defence force personnel helping with the clean-up today, helping thousands of volunteers.

Mr Miles said Queensland Health was working on mosquito control programs after the Japanese encephalitis case.

Brendan Moon, CEO of the Queensland Reconstruction Authority, said the priority was getting people back in their homes and businesses back operating.

Mother-daughter duo Frances and Denai Rex join the Mud Army to clean-up flood affected suburbs around Brisbane. Picture: Zak Simmonds

It comes as new support is announced for small businesses and sporting clubs.

Thousands of Mud Army volunteers turned up to help assist in the flood clean up efforts across Brisbane this morning.

More than 15,000 volunteers, who signed up for the program, have hopped on buses and were deployed across the worst impacted suburbs on Saturday morning.

Frances and Denai Rex said they signed up for the Mud Army as soon as they could to help those impacted by the floods.

Denai Rex said she remembered the 2011 floods when she was in high school and helped with clean-up efforts at her school’s boat shed.

Members of the Mud Army leave the RNA Showground. Picture: Zak Simmonds