Rain buckets down in Brisbane, rivers and streams may rise

Heavy rain battered Brisbane on Wednesday as Queensland’s south-east felt the tail end of ex-cyclone Dianne – a system that brought widespread flooding elsewhere in the state.

Up to 50 millimetres was expected to fall over Brisbane, with the chance of up to 70 millimetres in some areas, the Bureau of Meteorology said.

“Minor road flooding and maybe just some odd rises on our rivers and streams around the city is [possible],” senior meteorologist Dean Narramore told this masthead.

Up to 50 millimetres was expected to fall over Brisbane, with the chance of up to 70 millimetres in some areas.Credit: Catherine Strohfeldt

“We do have flood watches for much of south-east Queensland [on Wednesday], just because things are so wet. We’re not going to see the big falls that we saw out further west.

“By the time we get to Friday afternoon, particularly the weekend, we’ll see lots of sunshine returning and dry and sunny weather.”

He said the rain dump has been driven by a combination of an upper trough and the remnants of Dianne, which hit WA’s Kimberley region on the weekend.

The Seqwater Flood Operations Centre has been put on alert due to the heavy rainfall, with flood releases possible at Wivenhoe, Somerset and North Pine dams.

Major flooding hit Queensland’s west, considered the worst flooding event in more than 50 years and affecting an area twice the size of Victoria.

More than 100,000 cattle, sheep and goats were already believed to have died, with the full extent of livestock losses unlikely to be known until water levels finally eased.

Helicopter pilots have been kept busy delivering feed, rescuing animals and evacuating inundated communities. The army was also on standby.

“They’re like bees, but they’re doing a great job and we thank them for all the work they’re doing,” Nationals Leader David Littleproud told ABC Radio.

AgForce sheep, wool and goat president Boyd Webb said the deluge would have a lasting effect on primary producers.

“It’ll be like you’ve been unemployed for 12 months for some people, or longer,” he said.

“For different individuals, it will be very, very tough, in what was already a tough landscape.”

The bureau’s Narramore believed it would be some time before water began to clear in the west.

“It’s kind of been swept across the country … it’s going to continue to linger for a long time,” he said.

with AAP