Queensland weather: Heavy rain pounds Brisbane, 100mm recorded on Sunshine Coast
Swift water rescue crews have saved multiple motorists stranded in floodwaters across Brisbane and Redland City after a 130mm deluge on Saturday.
QLD News
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Swift water rescue crews have saved numerous motorists stranded in floodwaters across Brisbane and Redland City after 100mm of rain fell in just three hours.
By 7pm on Saturday, Queensland State Emergency Service had responded to 10 callouts in Brisbane and one in Logan.
The Bureau of Meteorology issued a series of warnings on Saturday for a severe, slow moving storm producing heavy rain triggering flash flooding.
The heaviest falls were recorded south of Brisbane at Leslie Harrison Dam, with 99mm falling in three hours to 2.53pm, while 98mm fell at Burbank. Leslie Harrison Dam has recorded over 130mm since 9am.
Rainfall rates of 35-50mm an hour have been recorded in some areas.
A Queensland Police spokesman said multiple roads remain closed at Birkdale, Rocklea and Rochedale and across Brisbane’s south Saturday night but with little rain falling on Sunday the situation had improved.
A Queensland Fire Department spokeswoman said swift water crews had been called out to cars stranded in floodwaters at Birkdale, Rocklea and Rochdale on Saturday.
Four people were stranded in a vehicle surrounded by floodwaters on Mary Pleasant Drive, Birkdale, around 2.30pm.
“On arrival, the occupants and vehicle were removed from floodwater and no other vehicles were located,” the spokeswoman said.
Three people became trapped when their car was stranded in half-metre floodwaters on Gardner Rd, Rochedale.
The heavy rainfall and flash flooding forced the cancellation of the Sherwood Community Festival in Brisbane’s west.
The popular community festival was scheduled to take place at the Sherwood Arboretum on Saturday.
Festival president Sophie Julian said she was expecting 8000 people through the gates when the festival opened at 2pm but had to make the call with the Brisbane City Council to cancel the event.
“It was very very wet, very very soggy. We did keep an eye on the radar and in the morning it was 50 percent chance of rain, and we went ahead. But by 11am we were looking at the grounds and we liaised with the council and it was too wet to get vehicles in and we had to call it,” Ms Julian said.
“It was ankle deep water, so we made the right call.”
Ms Julian said due to the unexpected deluge it had severely impacted the festival’s operations and hopes that she can secure further funding to reschedule the event that has been running for 29 years.
Mary Pleasant Dr in Birkdale of the Redland City was one of the roads that went underwater on Saturday because of the heavy rain.
Resident Lorraine Hooker has lived along Mary Pleasant Drive for more than 10 years and said she has never seen the water rise so high.
“Very flooded, emergency crews are out walking up and down the street in their yellow vests and the water is all the way up to my front gate. The road is totally closed off,” Ms Hooker said on Saturday.
Speaking on Sunday she described the floodwater as a torrent going across the road.
“The road was cordoned off, but people still managed to drive through it,” she said.
“It was certainly to a danger point where you had kids wanting to kayak on the street.
“There are grills that catch debris which the watercourse goes underneath the road that traverses, so it’s a matter of ensuring those waterways are kept clear at all times.”
Another resident Cameron Gill, who has been living in the area for more than 14 years, said the water did not come inside his house as it used to.
“It was unusual yesterday, but because it wasn’t high tide,” he said.
“All the water runs down the canal.”
The rain was caused by upper level trough that later shifted offshore, providing a reprieve from showers and storm activity. The reprieve is expected to last until Tuesday.
“It should start to ease during this afternoon, and most of the severe thunderstorm activity will actually be a lot further inland this afternoon and evening,” Steve Hadley, senior meteorologist at the Bureau of Meteorology, said on Saturday.
With catchments already saturated, the Bureau of Meteorology remains cautious about potential river and creek rises.
“Catchments have wetted up a little bit after the recent rainfall, so there could be some small river rises around,” Mr. Hadley added.
Mr Hadley said after isolated showers and storms Monday for the Darling Downs, Scenic Rim and Lockyer Valley, the southeast would be back in the firing line from Tuesday.
“That weather system will be back, sitting over South East Queensland again, with showers and storms potentially anytime through the day, and then it’s back to showers from Wednesday onwards,” Mr Hadley said.
Meanwhile, Far North Queensland is grappling with a severe heatwave and more than 45 active bushfires, stretching from central regions to Cairns.
A heatwave warning remains in effect for the Peninsula, Gulf Country, and North Tropical Coast.
Disaster relief funding has been activated for Flinders and Etheridge shires, where fires are threatening communities.
“It’s been an incredibly difficult time and I want to acknowledge the brave work of first responders and community members,” Federal Minister Jenny McAllister said.
The Bureau of Meteorology expects temperatures to start dropping later in the week.
“We do have that severe heatwave warning for the moment, but it looks as though over the next week, temperatures are going to come down a bit more towards average,” Mr Hadley said.
“The heatwave is here for a few more days, but should be gone by around the middle of the week.”
Although thunderstorms are predicted for some bushfire-affected areas, rainfall may not be enough to bring full relief.
“There’s a high chance of showers and thunderstorms over those bushfire areas today,” Mr Hadley said.
“They might get another round [of rain] particularly from about midweek onwards, where they could see some showers and storms over those bush fire affected areas.
“Although we can’t promise that there’s going to be enough rainfall everywhere to keep everybody happy and to put away put out all those bush fires.”
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