Qld weather: Floods to inundate Gympie CBD again

Gympie was officially isolated due to floodwaters while residents in Brisbane, Logan and Ipswich were asked to watch their water usage on Saturday night. But an end to the state’s latest deluge is on the horizon.

Gympie was officially isolated as floodwaters cut both ends of the Bruce Highway and major bridges on Saturday.

However there is hope on the horizon, with the last of the state’s latest deluge within sight.

Speaking at a press conference on Saturday afternoon, Gympie Mayor Glen Hartwig said the town was now isolated with residents and drivers trapped either side.

It came as shop owners and residents sandbag in Gympie’s CBD and the Normanby Bridge was closed as floodwaters continued to rise following this week’s torrential downpours.

Residents of Brisbane, Ipswich and Logan were being asked to conserve water thanks to significant issues at the Mount Crosby Water Treatment Plant

In a statement, Seqwater blamed the extreme weather which had impacted the plant, reducing its operating capacity.

“This is as a result of flood waters washing soil and debris into the creeks and waterways, which

flow into the treatment plants,” the statement read.

“This is a precaution only. Any reduction in water use over the next couple of days will greatly

assist in managing water supply through this weather event.”

Brothers Kai (left) and Kodie Crowther at Normanby Bridge in Gympie, which is now isolated by floodwaters.

It was advised the drinking water being supplied to homes and businesses remains safe to drink and meets the Australian Drinking Water Guidelines.

Seqwater crews were working to get the treatment plants back to normal operations.

Seqwater is moving water around the SEQ Water Grid and using the Gold Coast Desalination

Plant to help supplement supplies.

And major flooding was predicted for Tiaro, south of Maryborough, for Sunday morning; though the Mary River remained a minor threat to Maryborough.

Late on Friday night, the Mary River at Gympie was over 12m and rising, prompting flood alerts. Rain continued to batter Gympie overnight and up to 50mm of rain is forecast for Saturday.

The Bruce Highway was cut in both directions in the town early Saturday morning. Diversions were in place, with motorists told to expect delays.

In an encouraging sign, statewide rainfall decreased on Saturday, with the Gold Coast receiving just 37mm overnight compared with over 100mm on Thursday.

Despite the chaotic weather patterns beginning to stabilise, the Bureau of Meteorology is still forecasting rain for the rest of the weekend and into next week.

Brisbane can expect 20mm tomorrow.

On Monday, falls of up to 15mm are expected before the rain tails off completely and is reduced to small and isolated showers.

The view of flooding from a hill in Gympie

Notable rainfall totals over the past 24 hours include:

– Bellthorpe 44mm

– Molendinar 37mm

– Possum Creek 25mm

– Carrara 33mm

– Kerkin Road 32mm

– Biggera Creek Dam 31mm

– Mount Mee 30mm

– Coombabah 30mm

– Crohamhurst 29mm

– Oxenford Weir 29mm

Bureau of Meteorology meteorologist Shane Kennedy said South East Queensland was still seeing some light rain and drizzle, however, the cloud coverage is due to break up in the near future.

“Rain will continue to ease overnight into tomorrow, most places in the southeast have received less than 10mm since 9am,” Mr Kennedy said.

Roads are cut off as Gympie is isolated by floodwaters.

Lockyer Valley residents began cleaning up today after another “soul-destroying” flood left hundreds of homes inundated by an inland sea.

However there was a glimmer of hope this morning, with Emergency Services Minister Mark Ryan saying he had received some “pleasing advice” that the weather was easing.

But he said there was still major flooding in rivers and creeks.

Mr Ryan said the most impacted areas were Laidley in the Lockyer Valley, and Gympie had “some flood risk” toward this afternoon, with the potential of the town’s bridge being closed and some inundation in the CBD.

“All beaches are closed in South East Queensland, so there is no reason to be going to the beach,” he said.

Mr Ryan said CityCats on the Brisbane River would remain suspended until Monday.

Bureau of Meteorology meteorologist Matthew Collopy confirmed the rain was easing but said major flood warnings were still in place for various rivers.

They’re not superstitious but Warwick SES volunteers had a feeling Friday, 13 May was going to be a challenge. As the Condamine River & other local creeks began to rise, many were left isolated. With 73 people to rescue and nightfall their deadline, the SES jumped into action. pic.twitter.com/x5lBOBVFLj

— Qld Fire & Emergency (@QldFES) May 14, 2022

He said that included the Condamine River, the Warrill and Bremer Rivers and the Laidley and Lockyer Creeks.

He said there was a moderate flood warning for the Mary River and the water was currently rising at Gympie with a peak expected late today.

A minor flood warning remained in place for the Brisbane River.

Asked if there would be any school closures next week, Mr Ryan said he expected they would be open unless buildings were impacted by flooding.

Assistant Police Commissioner Shane Chelepy said some homes in the Laidley area had been evacuated as a precaution.

“In the Laidley area there are some homes very close by the CBD that have been affected and we did as a precaution ask people to leave those homes,” he said.

But he said it was more of an “isolation issue” for many residents.

“Roads and access points to those houses have caused issues,” he said.

“Up in Gympie, it really is the CBD.”

Oxley Rd in Brisbane’s southwest was closed due to flooding yesterday. Picture: Zak Simmonds

But Mr Chelepy said homes in Gympie were generally not impacted unless the river reached 17m, with predictions putting it at 15m.

Queensland Fire and Emergency Services assistant commissioner Andrew Short urged parents to keep their children out of the water.

He said it was incredibly important that people continued to listen to safety messages.

“We look forward to Queensland communities getting back to some sort of normality,” he said.

Ms Short said emergency services personnel had been involved in 14 swift water incidents overnight.

“Certainly there’s still people going in the water, so we’re looking for people to do the right thing.”

Just weeks after a major flood event destroyed homes and took lives across the state’s southeast, heavy rain has again sparked flood warnings for major rivers, cut off roads and isolated towns.

Up to 300 homes in Laidley were affected yesterday, with a major flood warning still in place for the town last night.

The Warrego Highway today reopened between Brisbane and Toowoomba.

The Laidley CBD was inundated in the early hours of Friday. Picture: Queensland Ambulance Service

Up to 200mm of rain smashed the Wide Bay and Sunshine Coast areas overnight, with the SES receiving more than 120 requests for help, including 14 swiftwater rescues since 3pm on Friday.

Bureau of Meteorology senior forecaster Shane Kennedy said rainfall in Brisbane had reduced to about 10mm with isolated falls not expected to exceed 20mm today and tomorrow.

“We’ve generally seen in the past six hours rainfall dropping to around 10mm or so across the Brisbane area, so in the past 24 hours we’ve had typically 15 to 30mm across much of the air and getting about 50mm and parts of the northern suburbs,” Mr Kennedy told the ABC.

“It’s still remaining pretty unsettled unfortunately for the next several days, so not getting any completely sunny days at this stage. But certainly that rainfall really easing off particularly from Tuesday.”

A severe weather warning for dangerous surf remains in place for southeast coastal areas, stretching from Seventeen Seventy down to the Gold Coast.

Up to 3m swells were reported on the Gold Coast and all beaches will remain closed on Saturday, with easterly winds of about 30km expected to increase at lunchtime.

Beachgoers have been urged to stay away.

A car drives through floodwaters in Laidley. Picture: Dan Peled/Getty Images

In Central Queensland, a woman gave birth on a sports oval after her route to hospital was blocked by floodwaters overnight.

The 30-year-old new mum went into labour on Friday night but was unable to make it to hospital when floodwaters cut road access between Agnes Water and Gladstone.

A rescue helicopter was tasked to pick her up, but the woman gave birth on a nearby sports field before emergency services arrived.

The helicopter landed shortly afterwards and flew the woman and her newborn to Gladstone Hospital.

In Brisbane, low-lying areas were on high alert, with residents warned that creeks could spill over.

The Brisbane River is expected to remain just below moderate flood level at 1.7m at high tide this morning, while Ipswich’s Bremer River continues to sit at 10.17m.

A man was rescued from the roof of his car after he drove into floodwaters in Brisbane’s west overnight.

Rescue crews launched an inflatable raft on Rafting Ground Rd in Brookfield just before 11pm and brought the man to safety. He was uninjured.

A man sits on his car roof after the vehicle became stuck in floodwaters in Carina in Brisbane. Picture: Richard Walker

Queensland Fire and Emergency Services crews carried out 27 “water-related” rescues in the 24 hours to 3pm on Friday, while State Emergency Services volunteers responded to 441 calls for help.

QFES state operations co-ordinator James Hague said most swiftwater rescues were related to people choosing to drive through flood waters.

“Most of them relate to vehicles entering floodwaters and of course, we remind everybody if it’s flooded, forget it,” he said.

“Over the weekend we really asked parents to look after their children, and so on. Don’t get caught in the idea of going down and having a look and letting your kids into those waterways because they are going to run very quickly and there’s tremendous power in that moving water.”

Mr Hauge advised drivers to plan their route in advance and check the widespread road closures across the state before getting into the car.

Walkers stop and look at a sunken houseboat washed up by the wild weather on the banks of the Broadwater Parklands at Southport on the Gold Coast on Friday. Picture: Glenn Hampson.

Premier Annastacia Palaszczuk said the rain was initially predicted to ease on Friday but would instead dissipate on Saturday.

“This rain is causing a lot of inundation, especially in our catchment areas, so if you live around the catchment areas, please be prepared and be listening to what the weather bureau and what the emergency alerts say,” she said. Ms Palaszczuk said flood warnings were in place across the state, including for the Condamine, Logan and Bremer rivers, as well as the Warrill, Laidley and Lockyer creeks.

A minor flood warning is in place for the Brisbane River, with low-lying areas potentially being affected at high tide over the coming days.

“I do understand that some people will be anxious during this time … but the key thing is to be listening to the alerts,” Ms Palaszczuk said.

A swiftwater rescue at Fairney View, near Fernvale on Friday. Picture: Richard Walker

The Bureau of Meteorology has forecast persistent rain and isolated heavier falls for much of the southeast for the weekend.

Forecaster Brooke Pagel said persistent falls of more than 10mm were tipped for already saturated areas in Brisbane, the Lockyer Valley and Toowoomba on Saturday.

Ms Pagel said a trough and a low-pressure system were expected to interact overnight, keeping the wet weather around.

“Catchments are so saturated, and rainfall could cause dangerous and life-threatening flooding, and there’s the threat of localised landslides happening,” she said.

“It will be very wet on the roads and we are expecting more to be cut.”

The bureau has a “dangerous surf” warning from 1770 to the Gold Coast and several “damaging wind” warnings in place for the weekend.

Ms Pagel said Laidley was the worst-affected town in the southeast, copping the brunt of the rainfall overnight Thursday.

Lockyer Valley Regional Council Mayor Tanya Milligan said she was proud of her community for rallying together.

“We’re already talking about having staff come in on the weekend to try and get cleaned up,” she said. “The sooner you get in there and start cleaning up, the quicker we can recover. Debris and devastation is just soul-destroying.”

Locals help move a freezer from a Laidley restaurant. Picture: Dan Peled/Getty Images

With an estimated 260 houses inundated with floodwaters, 135 roads closed and 237 power outages as of Friday afternoon, Ms Milligan warned residents to remain aware of their surroundings.

“If people haven’t reached out to family and friends, let them know you’re OK, and just be really aware, with inundation, no one knows what’s under the water,” she said.

“I take my hat off to my community for the way they’ve just rallied around each other. It continually amazes me, especially considering how much devastation there is.”

In Carina, police arrived to assist the driver of a Honda Accord after he drove into floodwaters and was forced to scramble on to the car’s roof.

Police with a man whose car became stuck in floodwaters in Carina. Picture: Richard Walker

In the Noosa hinterland, nine children were evacuated from Pomona State School after they were cut off by rising floodwater.

A Queensland Fire and Emergency spokeswoman said four crews were called to Station St, Pomona, at 11.05am after reports the children and an adult had been left stranded.

In the Lockyer Valley, emergency responders check­ed submerged vehicles to make sure nobody was inside.

Acting Commissioner Steve Gollschewski said police and emergency services were working around the clock to keep people safe.

“A weather event like this is extremely challenging for everybody in our community and also for our emergency services,” he said.

“Listen to the warnings and take action at the right time.”

Additional reporting by Rachael Rosel, Elise Williams, Samantha Scott, Scott Kovacevic

andElizabeth Neil