Lockyer, Laidley creeks peak as Lockyer Valley Regional Council begins post-flood clean up work
With the Laidley Creek peaking above the major flood level, and moderate flooding still being experienced around the Lockyer Valley, the ‘soul-destroying’ task of cleaning up has begun.
Toowoomba
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Just months after major flooding events which caused widespread devastation, the Lockyer Valley is once again facing the prospect of another long road to recovery.
After a deluge of an average of 260mm in 48 hours large parts of the region faced major flooding with the Lockyer and Laidley creeks swollen by heavy rainfall.
The Lockyer Creek at Gatton peaked above the moderate flood level of 10m during Friday morning, and is expected to remain above the minor flood level on Saturday morning, while the Laidley Creek at Laidley peaked above the major flood level of 7m on Friday morning.
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.”
While the Lockyer Valley Regional Council, businesses and residents in the region had made progress in recovering from the devastating floods in February and March, Mayor Tanya Milligan fears the recent flooding could set the region back to square one.
“From a local government perspective it’s most definitely frustrating that even the temporary restoration we did in places before we could the really substantial work has gone to waste,” she said.
“We got stuck in and did as much as we could but that’s probably been washed away and we have to start again. We’re already talking about having staff come in on the weekend to try and get cleaned up.
“The sooner you get in there and start cleaning up, the quicker we can recover. Debris and devastation is just soul-destroying.”
Up to 300 homes in Laidley were affected on Friday, with a major flood warning still in place for the town last night.
The Warrego Highway today reopened between Brisbane and Toowoomba.
Ms Milligan said at last count at least half of Laidley’s CBD had businesses inundated with flood water.
“The Laidley CBD is like a small village, very community orientated, so to have more than 20 businesses inundated is devastating,” she said.
Ms Milligan said the Grantham flood siren had been put into use twice on Friday, with the first alarm sounding about 3am before another warning was issued about 8am.
With a forecast of some 150mm across Friday afternoon and Saturday morning, Ms Milligan reminded motorists to avoid flooded roads and to follow warning advice issued by emergency services.
Friday, May 13:
The emergency flood siren at Grantham has sounded for the second time in a matter of hours with residents urged to seek higher ground as heavy rain hits the region.
An emergency alert was first issued by Lockyer Valley Council about 3.30am, with the flood siren reactivated again about 8.20am.
Residents have been told to move to higher ground and relocate as a matter of urgency.
The warning comes as a result of an upper low moving into southeast Queensland, resulting in heavy rainfall where six-hour rainfall totals could hit 160mm.
The Bureau of Meteorology has warned that major flooding is now likely along the Lockyer and Laidley creeks, with the Lockyer Creek at Gatton expected to be above the minor flood level of 7m early Friday morning and remain there through much of the day before potentially reaching the moderate level of 11m early Friday afternoon.
Meanwhile the Laidley Creek at Laidley is expected to be above the major flood level of 7m early Friday morning and remain there until at least Friday afternoon.
Toowoomba Regional Council has also issued an emergency alert for residents in Millmerran with the Condamine River rising.
The council’s Local Disaster Management Group said the alert was in response to the BOM’s major flood warning for the Condamine River, with residents urged to make preparations for possible inundation.
The three major dams in the region at Cooby, Cressbrrok and Perseverance are continuing to spill with council staff working around the clock to monitor rainfall levels on-site.
Toowoomba region mayor Paul Antonio said the LGMG remained on lean forward but that the region’s District Disaster Management Group had moved to stand up to provide support and assistance to the Lockyer Valley region.
“The LDMG is co-ordinating with relevant emergency services and will continue to monitor advice and information from the Bureau of Meteorology,” Mr Antonio said.
“If residents were impacted during the February/March rain event they should make preparations now for this event.
“We’ve had significant rainfall in the catchments overnight and residents who experience flooding from the Condamine Rover are asked to make preparations now.
Thursday, May 13:
The Lockyer Valley remains on edge tonight as anywhere between 140mm to 160mm could fall in the next 36 hours, raising fears of a repeat of major flooding that devastated the region earlier this year.
Bureau of Meteorology’s Brook Pagel said an upper trough was combining with a moist air mass east of a surface trough, resulting in widespread areas of rainfall with embedded thunderstorms.
“The rain and the catchments that are really in focus at the moment, where the strong signal is, is actually out at Lockyer Valley around Gatton and Laidley Creek,” Ms Pagel said.
Lockyer Valley Regional Council mayor Tanya Milligan said while they were prepared, overnight rainfall would determine the extent of any devastation.
“We’re really fortunate we’ve got two swiftwater teams in our region on standby but as of yet we’ve had no calls for assistance in the region,” she said.
“At 6am we had 46 roads closed and now there’s more than 100 but people can still get through on the Warrego Highway.
“We have been proactive with things like getting sandbags out to people and our local disaster management group went on alert and stood up earlier so we’ve got staff on the ground ready to manage what happens but tonight will tell how serious the situation will be.”
Emergency alerts issued as dams spill
The Bureau of Meteorology has issued flood warnings for parts of the Lockyer Valley as heavy rain inundates the region for the second time in months.
The Lockyer Valley Regional Council and Toowoomba Regional Council have also issued emergency alerts, with heavy rainfall and flash flooding expected to continue across the region including Cooby Dam for at least the next few days.
Toowoomba Regional Council’s Local Disaster Management Group has advised there is no immediate risk to Oakey as a result of water spilling over the Cooby Dam wall.
“Council’s Water Operations centre is monitoring the Region’s three dams around the clock and will provide updates as required,” TRC LDMG chair Mayor Paul Antonio said.
“Council today (May 12) started contacting property owners who are directly downstream of Cooby Dam.
“We are continuing to update these residents in line with our emergency action plan, along with residents downstream of Cressbrook Dam.
“There is no imminent threat to Oakey township. Council will continue to issue advice that directly concerns the Oakey community if the situation changes.”
Widespread rain has dumped up to 90mm across parts of the Bremer River, Lockyer, Laidley and Warrill creeks and Lower Brisbane River catchments, with isolated totals of 177mm recorded in the past 24 hours to 4am Thursday.
In the 24 hours since 9am on May 11, some of the heaviest rainfall totals have been recorded at Woodford (149mm), Kilcoy (68mm), Toowoomba (73mm), Upper Sandy Creek (112mm), Upper Tenthill (79mm) and Gatton (49mm).
River and stream levels have risen as a result with minor to moderate flooding expected along Lockyer and Laidley Creek and the Bremer River, Warrill Creek and the Lower Brisbane River catchments.
BOM has warned that rainfall and showers are expected to continue over the next few days, with already saturated catchments likely to respond quickly to further heavy rainfall.
Grantham resident Megan Masters, who had a close call with flash flooding in February, said rising flood waters had isolated her Grantham Windmill Road property.
“We’re flooded in but at least I’m home this time,” she said.
“If the water is up to the footpath at the Lockyer Bridge we’re flooded in completely so when I got up this morning about 6.45am and saw how much water was there we knew we would be stuck.”
In contrast to February’s flooding, which saw Lockyer Creek rise first, Ms Masters said this time around Sandy Creek had risen first.
“If Lockyer Creek decides to join the party we will be screwed,” she said.
“I don’t understand it, in 2010 it rained for the entirety of the end of the year then we got his with the 2011 floods but this time it seems all it takes is 50mm of rain and it all goes under.”
The BOM forecast is for further rain throughout the day.
Senior Meteorologist Laura Boekel said rapid rises occurred across several creeks in southeast Queensland early this morning.
“Over the coming days, we are expecting rain areas to continue across parts of central and eastern Queensland,” she said.
“Within these rain areas we could see thunderstorms which could bring more intense pockets of rainfall as well as damaging winds.
“At this stage, these rain areas will likely ease from Saturday where we will see rain activity become more showery over the weekend before easing.”
Ms Boekel said any amount of rainfall could lead to flash flooding because the catchments are already saturated.
The heavy rain saw dams in the Toowoomba region spill yesterday, as the Toowoomba Regional Council’s Local Disaster Management Group warned residents to be safe around floodwater.
Lockyer and Laidley Creeks:
Major flooding may occur along the Laidley Creek and minor flooding may occur along the Lockyer Creek.
No water level observations are available for Gatton manual gauge. Based on observed upstream peaks, it is expected that minor flooding is occurring at Gatton. The Lockyer Creek at Gatton may reach around 9.30 metres late Thursday morning with minor flooding.
Based on observed upstream peaks, it is expected that minor flooding is occurring at Laidley. The Laidley Creek at Laidley manual gauge is likely to exceed the moderate flood level (6m) Thursday morning. The river level may reach around 7.1m late Thursday morning with major flooding.
The Lockyer Creek at Glenore Grove is currently at 6.9m (below minor) and rising. The Lockyer Creek at Glenore Grove may reach the minor flood level (8m) late Thursday morning.
In a life-threatening emergency call triple-0 and for emergency flood or storm assistance, call the State Emergency Service on 132 500.
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