Schools, work to return as floodwaters inundate suburbs again at high tide
The ninth victim of Queensland’s floods has been confirmed as Brisbane’s recovery effort begins in earnest, with the “Mud Army 2.0” of volunteers mobilising to help flood-hit residents. It comes as tens of thousands remain without power and returns to offices and schools loom.
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The ninth victim of Queensland’s floods has been confirmed as the Brisbane clean-up effort begins in earnest, with streets filled with destroyed furniture and whitegoods and “Mud Army 2.0” volunteers mobilised.
Police on Tuesday afternoon confirmed they’ve found the body of a 76-year-old man who had been missing in floodwaters, taking Queensland’s flood related death tally to nine.
The man, who reportedly was inside his vehicle in floodwaters on the Brisbane Valley Highway on Sunday evening, was found by police divers early Tuesday morning.
Search crews, including PolAir, SES and swift water rescue, had previously been tracking areas near where the man’s vehicle was last seen.
The man was located inside his submerged vehicle in floodwaters in Paddy Gully Creek.
A report will be prepared for the coroner.
Residents and volunteers clad in gumboots have begun the arduous process as floodwaters finally begin to recede, leaving a muddy mess.
Brisbane Lord Mayor Adrian Schrinner today issued a flood waste disposal update for residents with items that have been damaged by the floods.
In a thread of posts on Twitter, the Cr Schrinner told residents that they’re able to throw out items damaged by the floods at the Brisbane City Council’s resource recovery centres.
Damaged items will also be collected if they’re left out on the kerb, although the collection of general waste has temporarily been stopped.
But the Lord Mayor has also warned residents that areas along the Brisbane River may still flood.
“If your property is in an area that experiences river flooding, please delay the clean up until it is safe to do so,” Cr Schrinner wrote.
Queensland Fire and Emergency Services have also asked residents to wait until the floodwater decreases until they check on property damage.
QFES have warned that there’s debris and contaminants in floodwaters, and that the ground has likely been affected as well.
Residents can call SES on 132 500 if they need support.
South East Queensland residents will be able to return to school and offices from Wednesday, despite multiple Brisbane suburbs inundated by floodwaters again this morning at high tide.
It comes as:
* The hardest-hit victims of the floods have returned to their homes and businesses to assess the damage and begin the clean-up.
* Brisbane City Council issued a call-out for volunteers to join Mud Army 2.0.
* Tens of thousands of properties remained without power, with some outages to last till Friday.
* Ten thousand ticketholders are locked out of QPAC due to the flood chaos.
* The Police Minister blasts looters as grubs, as surf star Joel Parkinson becomes a victim.
* More generous Queenslanders have rallied behind scores of GoFundMe campaigns to raise over $500,000.
* Flood-affected homeowners may be waiting up to two years for their houses to be repaired because of huge price hikes and delivery delays in building materials.
* Woolworths introduced purchase limits at regional Queensland stores due to supply chain issues.
* A live cow appeared on a Gold Coast beach, along with several carcasses that ended up there after hinterland flooding.
* Tug boats assembled to tow a 550-tonne crane on a barge 300m back to its proper location near Brisbane’s City Botanic Gardens.
* Parents slammed confusion over the reopening of schools, as a new list of 150 closures was issued this afternoon.
* Friends mourned a surfer who died with his dog when his car was washed away on the Gold Coast.
In Brisbane’s inner south, the army has helped paramedics and Queensland Health officials evacuate more than 90 aged care residents from The Village at Yeronga since Monday morning.
Queensland Ambulance Service forward commander Luke Bamford said the residence on Cansdale St had lost power and had been flood-damaged.
“The building will have no power for some period of time so the residents can no longer stay here,” he said.
“QAS have taken out the high care patients in one operation that was completed yesterday.
“And today we’re looking to work with the Australian Defence Force and Queensland Health and we’re going to remove the remaining residents who are moderate and low care.”
The residents will be relocated to other aged care homes across Brisbane and taken to stay with family members where possible.
A fresh emergency alert was issued for 140 suburbs this morning with a high tide causing floodwaters to again rise with residents in areas of the city that have flooded braced for more pain after waters began to drop overnight before rising again.
However, the Brisbane River peak was not as high as feared.
It peaked at 3.35m and could still reach 3.5m but was below 3.85m, which is what it reached yesterday.
WATCH THE LIVESTREAM REPLAY
The Brisbane River peaked at around 3.33 metres at Brisbane City this morning & subsequent peaks will occur at high tide over the coming days. Stay out of flood water, & plan your journey before traveling on the roads. https://t.co/87HvBhrdjT
— Annastacia Palaszczuk (@AnnastaciaMP) March 1, 2022
The BOM advises the Brisbane River will again reach a ‘moderate flood peak’ of up to 2.8m at high tide again on Tuesday evening. Minor to moderate peaks will continue on high tides into Wednesday.
Meanwhile, Premier Annastacia Palaszczuk said most schools will reopen on Wednesday with the exception of 150 still impacted by floods. Residents will be able to return to offices where safe.
She blasted people looting in flood-affected areas with reports in Ipswich at Goodna, Blackstone and Bundamba and a 21-year-old man charged with burglary.
“I cannot believe that people would go to these depths,” she said.
The Bureau of Meteorology has urged southeast residents to err on the side of caution this week, with the flood emergency far from over.
Flooding has begun to “ease back” towards moderate levels however, flooding issues will continue into Wednesday.
BOM meteorologist Helen Reid said flood risks are expected to continue fluctuating for the remainder of the week, as another system makes its way through on Thursday.
“It’s not all done and dusted,” Ms Reid said.
“With the high tide, it’s looking like it will be just below high flood levels, so things are easing but it will be difficult to find your way through floodwaters.”
Further thunderstorm activity and rainfall is expected to arrive on Thursday, bringing the risk of further heavy rainfall and possible triple-digit totals to some southeast areas again.
“We don’t know how isolated rainfall will be because it’s such a broad system,” Ms Reid said.
“The system is also well-supported by the upper atmosphere, so it would be lovely to think it would only be isolated places that pick up those triple digit rainfall totals, but it could actually be more than just one or two places that pick up a reasonable amount of rainfall, dampening those clean up spirits.”
Between 8-20mm is currently forecast to fall in Brisbane on Thursday, another 6-20mm on the Sunshine Coast and 4-20mm on the Gold Coast.
LATEST UPDATE – AUTHORITIES OUTLINE WHAT’S UNFOLDED, WHAT’S TO COME
The Brisbane River has not peaked as high as feared today, Premier Annastacia Palaszczuk said during her flood update this morning, advising it was at 3.35m at 10.30am on Tuesday and could reach 3.5m but did not reach the feared 3.85m like yesterday.
The Premier said the Logan Mayor had advised that city was now experiencing its peak and up to 300 homes were impacted there.
Southeast motorists have been warned about the large amount of traffic on the roads today and to allow emergency services vehicles through with Lord Mayor Adrian Schrinner describing it as ‘diabolical’ with the road closures and number of people out and about.
The Premier said the rainfall received over the weekend in Brisbane was equivalent to 80 per cent of the region’s yearly rainfall total with more than 30 suburbs recording 1000mm or more during the deluge.
They include Mt Glorious, Bracken Ridge, Murrumba Downs, Mitchelton, Caboolture, Albany Creek, Aspley, Eatons Hill and Cedar Creek Road.
Ms Palaszczuk said nearly all schools would open on Wednesday, except for 150 still impacted.
She said parents would be able to check impacts on the Education Queensland website.
“Likewise, where it’s safe to return to work, people should think about that,” she said.
“But just remember, our rail network is down and some of our roads.
“So please talk to your employer as well about whether or not you have to go into work during this time.”
Ms Palaszczuk said some supermarkets were experiencing supply problems, but Deputy Premier Steven Miles was in talks with Woolworths and Coles.
“We still have 1152 people in evacuation centres,” she said.
Ms Palaszczuk said dam releases would continue over the next three to four days.
The forecast was for clear skies over the next several days, but scattered, severe thunderstorms were expected on Thursday and Friday.
She said the Bureau of Meteorology would provide an updated forecast Wednesday.
She said staged releases from Wivenhoe Dam were going well and it was “doing its job”.
The Premier said scenes from northern NSW showed what a massive rain event the southeast had experienced.
“It’s just incredible when you think of the amount of rain,” she said.
Ms Palaszczuk said better, updated estimates of the amount of homes impacted across the whole of the southeast should be available Tuesday afternoon.
“We’ll get the exact update about the amount of homes that have been inundated, whether that’s water up to floorboards, or water that’s actually come in and completely destroyed houses or partially destroyed homes,” she said.
In good news, the Premier said the barge which has a crane on it that caused the evacuation at Howard Smith Wharves yesterday had stabilised in the Brisbane River.
“Fingers crossed that remains the case,” she said.
Police Commissioner Katarina Carroll said there were no further deaths but police still held grave concerns for two missing people who were last seen on February 26 and 27.
They included a person who fell off his vessel on February 26 in floodwaters and a person who was swept from his vehicle on the Brisbane Valley Highway on the 27th.
Eight people have lost their lives.
She said she had been briefed on some looting in Ipswich at Goodna, Blackstone and Bundamba and a 21-year-old man had been charged with burglary.
“I ask the community to support us here if they do see any suspicious activity to please call police,” she said.
Ms Carroll said she was “disgusted” at the reports, which involved two businesses and a home.
The Premier said it was “unbelievable” that people were taking the opportunity now to loot when people were already experiencing the worst moments of their lives.
“I cannot believe that people would go to these depths,” she said.
“Like, honestly, these are people that are going through the hardship of their life.
“The last thing they need to be worried about is someone climbing into their house or going through their front door and going through their possessions.
“I mean, just stop it.”
Ms Palaszczuk said the event was bigger than the 1974 floods, in terms of rain.
“Queensland, you’re pretty resilient out there – just keep going,” she said.
Emergency Services Minister Mark Ryan said disaster relief payments were available, and declared disaster areas would be expanded.
There are personal hardship assistance grants of up to $180 per person, to a maximum of $900 for a family of five or more to eligible people in flood affected areas.
Payments were not means tested and would provide immediate relief for people who needed assistance now for temporary accommodation, food and clothes.
He said reports of looting were “outrageous”.
“Let me put this as politely as I can to those people who are engaged in this behaviour,” he said.
“What you are doing is not just illegal. But you are also grubs.
“You are preying on the most vulnerable Queenslanders at a time they’re most vulnerable. “You’re not even Queenslanders when you engage in this behaviour because Queenslanders help their mates and Queenslanders support their mates, and if you’re thieving from them, you are not a Queenslander, you are a grub” he said.
QFES Commission Greg Leach said there were 16 swiftwater requests overnight.
“We have a significant backlog of calls that we’re still trying to get to,” he said.
“If you have a life-threatening emergency please dial 000 … we will get resources to you as quickly as we can.”
Commissioner Leach said in some areas, authorities were moving into damage assessment.
He also urged motorists to keep road networks “as clear as you can”.
Brisbane Lord Mayor Adrian Schrinner has called for people to join the Mud Army 2.0, saying it was a “defining moment” of Brisbane after the 2011 floods.
He said more than 2000 people had already signed up but the website has crashed a number of times due to strong demand.
“It’s a good problem to have,” he said.
Mr Schrinner said he understood people were anxious to start cleaning up but said in many areas it was still not safe.
“If you need help and if you can give help, we want to hear from you,” he said.
“We will link up people who need help with people who can give help.
“I expect it will be a big weekend for the Mud Army.”
He said it was still too early to say what the damage bill would be but said in 2011 more than $400 million of damage was caused to council assets.
“I wouldn’t be surprised if it was more than $100 million,” he said.
The mayor said bus services were running on reduced services but would begin to expand over the coming days.
He urged people to stay off the roads unless necessary, saying traffic was “diabolical at the moment with the road closures and number of people out and about”.
Mr Schrinner said the traffic chaos was hindering clean up efforts.
Cr Schrinner said it was unknown when ferry services would resume and that the ferry terminals would first need to be checked by engineers.
He said two City Cats had broken free of their moorings. One sank after being hit by a house boat and the other was able to be saved.
“The one retrieved, we’ll be able to fix that up and put it back into service,” he said.
He said parking meters would remain off for the coming weeks to support the community and encourage people to support their local businesses.
Dam authorities are not concerned about forecast storms for this weekend as southeast Queenslanders have been assured their tap water is safe to drink.
Water will continue to be released from Wivenhoe Dam over the next seven days with the combined drinking water and flood compartment currently sitting at about 170 per cent.
Seqwater spokesman Mike Foster insisted the infrastructure was doing its job.
“We’ll be making those steady control releases over the next seven days until next Monday,” he said.
“Those releases will certainly not exacerbate any flooding we have seen downstream.
“I’ll remind everyone that Wivenhoe Dam continues to do the job it was supposed to do.”
Mr Foster said while people in greater Brisbane, Logan and the Lockyer Valley had been urged to conserve water amid production issues at the Mt Crosby treatment plant, there were no water quality issues.
He also said there was “nothing on our (weather) radar” that was causing concern.
But he said the recent weather event had taught authorities that “mother nature can change pretty quickly”.
“You’d only have to look at the forecast even for Saturday during this event, we were under the impression that the event was going to start slowing and moving away,” he said.
“It didn’t … and we saw that big surge.”
Mr Foster insisted Wivenhoe Dam was dual-purpose.
“If Wivenhoe Dam wasn’t there … that flooding downstream … would have been far worse,” he said.
“The releases we’re making and the flow rate that we’re putting into the river will certainly not add to the flooding that’s already occurred.”
MORE DETAILS ON FLOOD CRISIS
Police have confirmed they’ve found the body of a 76-year-old man who had been missing in floodwaters, taking Queensland’s flood related death toll to nine.
The man, who reportedly was inside his vehicle in floodwaters on the Brisbane Valley Highway on Sunday evening, was found by police divers early on Tuesday morning.
Search crews, including PolAir, SES and swift water rescue, had previously been tracking areas near where the man’s vehicle was last seen.
The man was located inside his submerged vehicle in floodwaters in Paddy Gully Creek.
A report will be prepared for the coroner.
Meanwhile, the search continues for another man, aged in his 70s, who has been missing
has been missing since before 5pm Saturday when he reportedly fell overboard.
According to police, his vessel was on the southern side of the Brisbane River at Breakfast Creek.
Search and rescue teams have had to negotiate debris and dangerous conditions while trying to reach the area the man was last seen.
The Coast Guard has also been advised to keep watch for the man, as they undergo barrier searches east of the Gateway Bridge.
As police warn of ongoing dangers in the Brisbane River, a CityCat has sunk in water off Addison Quays at Bulimba overnight.
Brisbane City councillor Ryan Murphy said the CityCat Beenung-Urrung sank in 8m of water after it was struck by a houseboat and came loose from its mooring.
“Overnight she continued to take on water and sank at approximately 3am,” Cr Murphy posted on social media.
“A very sad day for Transport for Brisbane and the team at River City Ferries.”
It comes as South East Queensland is bracing for a week of floods, with dam releases and storms to smash already inundated areas.
Schools will remain closed in Brisbane, Logan and the Gold Coast, while trains will stay offline and could for a number of days.
The prolonged and slow-moving downpour was the worst six-day period of rain in the South East in a century.
Thousands of homes and businesses have been inundated with water, with many tentatively starting the clean-up, despite more flooding to come.
Eight Queenslanders have lost their lives and three people were still missing on Monday night, and hundreds of rescues have been carried out.
Emergency flood alerts remain in place for Brisbane, Logan, areas of the Gold Coast and Far Northern NSW. The bureau has warned the next wave of damaging storms could begin on Wednesday and continue into the weekend, while showers persisted over Brisbane and the Gold Coast.
The Brisbane River peaked at 3.85m on Monday morning and a high tide of 3.7m is expected at 9am Tuesday – putting it above major flood levels – with fears of further rain later this week.
The Bureau of Meteorology’s Diana Eadie said the six-day downpour was the largest total in Brisbane’s history, with 792.8mm to 9am Monday.
It broke the 1974 record of 655.8mm and is about 80 per cent of Brisbane’s yearly average rainfall.
The weather bureau is warning that flood levels below 3.5m could continue to plague the River City for much of the week.
Pontoons, houseboats and debris have streamed down the river, reminiscent of the 2011 floods, but in a major emergency, a barge with a crane on it broke free.
The dangerous situation with the potential to become a 550 tonne missile sparked an urgent evacuation of Howard Smith Wharves.
Police evacuated all riverside areas and officers in a helicopter broadcast urgent messages for all people to move away from the river’s edge. Even residents in nearby units were evacuated.
The crane was part of construction of a green bridge, the barge had run aground and was not moving, but engineers continued to monitor the situation overnight.
As the rain moved south, Gold Coast suburbs were smashed by heavy falls, with a man dying in rising floodwaters when he veered off into Currumbin Creek.
It took the flood death toll to eight as rescue crews continued to work across Brisbane, Beenleigh and the Gold Coast on Monday.
Premier Annastacia Palaszczuk said it was an “extraordinary weather event”.
Earlier in the day the state government announced that schools not directly affected by floodwaters could reopen, but hours later changed the advice to say that only schools in the Lockyer Valley and Sunshine Coast that were not suffering flood damage could reopen.
Suburbs bordering the Brisbane River were the worst hit as water levels peaked on Monday, with properties in Brisbane’s CBD and South Bank underwater until the tide receded. The 2011 peak was 4.46m and the 1974 peak was 5.45m.
Hundreds of roads were closed and those that reopened were littered with dangerous potholes.
QFES Commissioner Greg Leach said Sunday night was the busiest for rescues, with 113 calls for assistance. There were also 2200 requests to the State Emergency Service.
He said interstate colleagues had contacted the QFES to offer assistance and there were a number of swift water crews who came from Victoria to help.
Brisbane Lord Mayor Adrian Schrinner said at least 2100 properties had been fully submerged and another 10,000 partially affected by river flooding.
“What these figures don’t include is the other properties that have been impacted by creek flooding over recent days because we’ve seen flash flooding in various areas, creeks have risen up really quickly and they’ve gone down again,” Mr Schrinner said.
Residents began to return to their homes to clean-up as waters receded on Monday.
Mr Schrinner said that the council would soon launch and co-ordinate Mud Army 2.0.
Deputy Police Commissioner Steve Gollschewski said people should await the all-clear from emergency services before returning to their homes to assess the damage.
“People should not go into floodwaters,” he said.
“They should wait until the floodwaters recede before they go into it, irrespective of whether it’s home or not.
“It’s been disappointing, and we’re seeing imagery all the time … of people in boats, on surfboards, on kayaks, going into floodwaters because they think it’s a bit of a lark. It is not a lark.”
Mr Gollschewski said that while further flooding was expected, it would “probably” not be as bad as what has already been experienced.
BOM’s Ms Eadie said it was the most significant river conditions that the city had experienced since the 2011 floods.
“Please make sure that you’re keeping updated with the latest warnings for the Brisbane River,” she said.
“We could still see flood levels around the moderate level continuing from tomorrow evening and persisting through much of the week,” she said.
Ms Eadie said moderate flood levels for Brisbane were below 3.5m.
Seqwater’s Mike Foster said Wivenhoe Dam’s flood compartment would be emptied over the next seven days and they needed to ensure the dam was able to deal with “another event”.
He warned that some homes and properties that were already flooded might be inundated longer as the dam level was lowered.
“Where houses are at the moment and those properties that are flooded, as we bring those levels down yes that’s the case that some properties may have water longer as we bring those bring those levels down,” he said.
The South East Queensland train network will remain suspended on Tuesday, with extensive damage inflicted on stations, tracks and overhead electrical wiring. Brisbane City Council bus services will run on a Saturday timetable on Tuesday, with the Gold Coast light rail operating as normal.
In the 24 hours to 9am Monday, a massive 222.8mm of rain fell in the Brisbane CBD, while Archerfield was drenched by 185mm. Over the same period, totals reached 268.6mm in Coolangatta, 305.6mm in Redcliffe, and 156.8mm in Alexandra Hills southeast of Brisbane.
BRISBANE SUBURBS SUBJECT TO EMERGENCY ALERT
Acacia Ridge
Albion
Algester
Annerley
Anstead
Archerfield
Ascot
Ashgrove
Auchenflower
Balmoral
Banyo
Bardon
Bellbowrie
Belmont
Boondall
Bowen Hills
Bracken Ridge
Brighton
Brisbane Airport
Brisbane City
Brookfield
Bulimba
Calamvale
Camp Hill
Cannon Hill
Carina
Carindale
Chapel Hill
Chelmer
Chuwar
Clayfield
Coopers Plains
Coorparoo
Corinda Darra
Deagon
Doolandella
Durack
Dutton Park
Eagle Farm
East Brisbane
Ellen Grove
Fairfield
Fig Tree Pocket
Fitzgibbon
Forest Lake
Fortitude Valley
Geebung
Graceville
Greenslopes
Gumdale
Hamilton
Hawthorne
Heathwood
Hemmant
Hendra
Herston
Highgate Hill
Inala
Indooroopilly
Jamboree Heights
Jindalee
Kangaroo Point
Karana Downs
Kelvin Grove
Kenmore
Kenmore Hills
Kholo
Lake Manchester
Larapinta
Lutwyche
Lytton
Manly West
Middle Park
Milton
Moggill
Moorooka
Morningside
Mount Crosby
Mt Ommaney
Murarrie
Nathan
New Farm
New Market
Newstead
Norman Park
Northgate
Nudgee
Nudgee Beach
Nundah
Oxley
Paddington
Pallara
Parkinson
Petrie Terrace
Pinjarra Hills
Pinkenba
Port of Brisbane
Pullenvale
Red Hill
Richlands
Riverhills
Rocklea
Salisbury
Sandgate
Seven Hills
Seventeen Mile Rocks
Sherwood
Shorncliffe
Sinnamon Park
South Brisbane
Spring Hill
St Lucia
Stones Corner
Sumner
Sunnybank
Taigum
Taringa
Tarragindi
Teneriffe
Tennyson
Tingalpa
Toowong
Virginia
Wacol
Wakerley
Wavell Heights
West End
West Lake
Willawong
Wilston
Windsor
Woolloongabba
Wooloowin
Wynnum
Wynnum West
Yeerongpilly
Yeronga
Zillmere
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