Terrifying moment girl’s tent is swept away in QLD flood before hitting a tree

“I lost all my belongings but grateful to be alive,” a shaken Maddy says in the wild video. 

Maddy was swept away in her tent during the flood. Source: Maddy Northeast / Caters News

Maddy and her family were excited to spend New Year’s camping together in Numinbah Valley in Queensland. 

The 22yo was enjoying the escape from Melbourne; the weather was warm and sparkling, so she got to spend time with those she loved most. 

But in the early hours of the morning, while she was sleeping in her tent, Maddy woke to the feeling of being shaken and swept away. 

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“Great start to 2024…”

Before going to sleep, she put in her earplugs and fell into a deep sleep; she was blissfully unaware she was being set upon by a flash flood ripping through the bushlands. 

“I woke up to the neighbours trying to wake us up,” she told Sunrise. 

Still in a state of waking up, she placed both hands beside her mattress, only to discover the tent was filled with water. 

It didn’t take long for her to realise what was going on, but it was already too late. The tent was dragged 40 metres down a river before smashing into a nearby tree. 

“If I didn’t hit the tree, I wouldn’t been further down the river,” she said. “I don’t know what wouldn’t happened.” 

Still battling the wild weather, the moment she collided with the tree, it collapsed and trapped her inside the tent. 

“I started screaming for my dad, screaming for my brother,” she recalled. Thankfully, the neighbours rushed to Maddy’s side.

But the tree’s branches and trunk, which had fallen in the storm, crushed the tent and prevented Maddy from getting out. 

“I had to be rescued by our camp neighbours cutting me out with an axe!” she said. 

RELATED: Controversy as QLD storms wreak havoc on childcare

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She uploaded a video of the aftermath on social media, with her 17-year-old sister Ebony sitting on top of their car as the river raged and the water continued to rise. 

“This is the situation we’re in,” she began, filming the surrounding area, which was engulfed in rapid waters. 

“Everything’s gone,” she added before pointing the camera to her sister, who gave a small thumbs up. “Love it,” she sarcastically said. 

Thankfully, Maddy and her family were able to get out of the floods and return to safety, with the SES making their way up the floodwaters to rescue the trapped campers.

This isn’t the first time she and her family have visited the Queensland spot, but they didn’t expect to be caught up in such a traumatic experience. 

“[I] lost all my belongings but grateful to be alive,” she captioned the clip. “Great start to 2024…”

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Maddy's family were eventually rescued by the SES. Source: Maddy Northeast / Caters News

“Welcome to Queensland!” 

The video quickly went viral, with hundreds in shock over the devastating floods.

“That water came up so fast, and so much more water than any predictions,” one person said. 

“We were camping on Straddie, and it was rough,” read a comment. “We could see your storm in the distance and grateful it didn't come up as far.” 

“That’s wild,” said another. “I’m in Cairns, and the floods were pretty crazy as well so hopefully you are ok.” 

“Welcome to Queensland,” joked a third. 

Others wondered how Maddy could possibly sleep through such wild weather. “You slept through that?” a shocked person asked. 

“I had this dream I was drowning…” another laughed.

Originally published as Terrifying moment girl’s tent is swept away in QLD flood before hitting a tree