One dead, teen missing in deadly floods as state’s north braces for Cyclone Tiffany

A desperate search for a teen missing in floodwaters has resumed following yesterday’s shock weather event with authorities now say they hold grave fears for her.

A man was killed after he was washed away in floodwaters while a teenage girl remains missing in the wake of a deadly deluge that dumped more than half a metre of water on Queensland communities as a fresh cyclone threat bears down on the state’s north.

Ex-Tropical Cyclone Seth unleashed an extraordinary final blast – which delivered more rain than even the first 24 hours of the infamous Cyclone Yasi, from 10 years ago, in one devastating period from Friday night into Saturday morning.

Authorities now say they have grave fears for the missing 14-year-old girl who was swept away after trying to escape a car in floodwaters.

The emergency continues this morning with people again urged to avoid unnecessary travel in the Wide Bay Burnett region.

Maryborough is experiencing significant flooding with the Mary River expected to peak this evening at 10.5m.

Premier Annastacia Palaszczuk this morning said about 80 homes would be impacted.

Emergency alerts and doorknocking is under way in affected areas.

The main Woolworths supermarket in the town is largely underwater, a makeshift ambulance station has been established at a sporting field and thousands of people are isolated.

The Bruce Highway was shut in both directions at Gympie due to flooding overnight.

Emergency crews blocked the highway off Inglewood Bridge at 5am.

At 7am, the Bruce Highway was shut again at Tiaro due to the Mary River flood peak.

It was expected to be shut for the majority of the day.

The RACQ says at least 125 other roads across Queensland are also cut.

A major flood warning continues for Maryborough, Miva and Tiaro while a moderate flood peak is expected at Gympie this morning.

Heavy rainfall in the Mary River catchment area is expected to continue easing today, with some showers possibly sticking around.

The deluge on Friday afternoon and Saturday morning – which dumped 673mm on the community of Marodian northwest of Gympie on the Fraser Coast – caught even the Bureau of Meteorology by surprise with the freakish behaviour of the thunderstorm cell concentrating its power on a small patch of the state for hours without relent.

Most of the rain was continuous over 12 hours from Friday into the early hours of Saturday. Mt Kanigan recorded 142mm of rain in an hour to 11.30pm on Friday and Mt Seaview recorded 51mm in the 45 minutes to 8.09pm on Saturday.

A 22-year-old Sunshine Coast man died after his ute was swept into floodwaters at Kanigan near Gympie on Friday night.

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His body was recovered after more than 16 hours, while a 14-year-old girl remained unaccounted for after a Toyota Camry was swept away at nearby Booubyjan.

The desperate search for her was suspended late last night.

The girl and a 40-year-old man were able to scramble from the vehicle.

The man, who was found clinging to a tree, was taken to Bundaberg Hospital in a stable condition.

Queensland Fire and Emergency Services revealed that between 9am on Friday and 2.30pm on Saturday, 38 water rescues took place across the state.

Flooding at Woolooga. Picture: Deb Frecklington

During the same time period, there were 141 requests for SES assistance in the North Coast region.

As of 11.30am on Saturday, there were at least 15 people who authorities could not yet reach and late yesterday it could not be confirmed what their status was.

There has not been a rain event in Queensland as severe as last night’s 670mm deluge in living memory.

The weather events of the last 24 hours far surpassed those from the first 24 hours of Cyclone Yasi – which in 2011 saw 200-300mm of rain slam north Queensland in a 24-hour time period.

RACQ spokeswoman Lauren Ritchie said the weather events of the last day were far more significant.

“Cyclone Yasi had between 200-300mm of rain in the first 24 hours, this is nearly more than three times as much,” she said. “We haven’t seen a rain event quite like this before and the sheer amount has caused significant damage to the road network and we expect will cut hundreds of roads for several days,” Ms Ritchie said.

A damaged road in the town of Goomeri. Picture: Diane Frola

Parts of the Bruce Highway went underwater and were damaged, with sections near Curra and Booyal washed away, and the Burnett, Carnarvon, Castlereagh and Leichhardt highways were among more than 80 roads closed.

While rain subsided on Saturday afternoon, more than 650mm fell at Mt Kanigan, northwest of Gympie, 523mm at Glenwood and 464mm at Brooyar.

Floodwaters in Maryborough. Picture: John Wilson

The threat is not over, with Maryborough expected to be cut off by major flooding over the next day with an expected floodwater peak of 9m.

The Sunshine Coast RACQ LifeFlight Rescue helicopter crew winched a family from the second storey of their home after they became trapped by rising flood water in the Fraser Coast region.

Sunshine Coast RACQ LifeFlight Rescue helicopter crew rescue a family of four who were stuck in floodwaters. Picture: RACQ Lifeflight Rescue

The rescue chopper was called in after the three people realised their house was surrounded by water and they had no way to escape.

A Queensland Ambulance Service (QAS) Flight Paramedic was winched down to the family, and first carefully helped an elderly couple into the rescue basket, to be hoisted to the hovering chopper, before their son, aged in his 20s, was winched into the aircraft. It was the second family to be rescued in the region by the Sunshine Coast RACQ LifeFlight Rescue helicopter crew.

Earlier, they retrieved a family of four, who had been forced to spend the night in their car, after they became cut off as roads flooded around them.

Queensland Premier Annastacia Palaszczuk thanked all emergency services and SES crews for going to extraordinary efforts for helping those in the region that has copped the deluge as part of the aftermath of ex-tropical cyclone Seth, which has been over the Wide Bay region for some time.

Senior BOM meteorologist Harry Clarke said Seth should peter out in the next day or two, but a fresh threat is already looming, with modelling showing a high chance of a cyclone forming in the Coral Sea by Tuesday.

A cyclone watch was officially declared for far north Queensland about 4.35pm on Saturday. The watch extended from Cape Grenville to Cape Tribulation, including Cooktown. If the cyclone forms as expected, it will be named Tiffany and would cross the coast somewhere near the Lockhart River and Cooktown on the Cape York Peninsula.

Mr Clarke said there was still a degree of volatility surrounding the system, part of a monsoon trough stretching more than 1000km across the north of the country, but there was a “high chance” it would develop into a cyclone.

“If it develops into a cyclone it would likely be a category one, which would feature 100kmh winds and heavy rain,” he said.

However, it is expected to pass the coast well away from major population centres, though effects could be felt in Cairns and further south. By contrast, the southeast is set for a period of clear, stable weather with the remnants of Seth moving inland and weakening.

Originally published as One dead, teen missing in deadly floods as state’s north braces for Cyclone Tiffany