Ex-Cyclone Alfred: Grim warning to residents as massive clean-up begins
Drone footage has captured the horrific extent of Alfred’s destructive wake in one regional Queensland city.
Aerial footage has captured the horrific extent of flash flooding in the regional Queensland city of Hervey Bay after thousands were suddenly inundated with devastating floodwaters.
Police first made an emergency declaration under the Public Safety Preservation Act (PSPA) for the Fraser Coast city on Sunday after more than 300mm of rain fell in just six hours.
Emergency services received multiple calls related to motorists becoming stuck and floodwater impacting homes.
The PSPA declaration was revoked on Monday when the rain eased.
Drone footage captured by Surveyors at Work provides a birds-eye view of the extent of the flooding – revealing parks, roads and streets swamped with water.
On Sunday, residents were urged to conserve water due to the drinking water pump station in Urraween being damaged from the deluge.
”Water treatment plants have not been impacted, and Council continues to actively monitor and manage water quality across the network,” the Fraser Coast Regional Council (FCRC) said in a Facebook post.
FCRC water and waste services director Mark Vanner on Monday said damage assessments had been undertaken at the site.
”We have been able to confirm there has been damage to several pumps, motors and the switchboard,” he said.
Mr Vanner said changes had been made to the network to maintain supply through to critical reservoirs.
Temporary generators had also been deployed to try and get the pump station back online.
Overnight, rain started to ease across the state, with the highest rainfall totals in Gympie with 146mm and Gatton, which recorded 118mm in 24 hours.
The Bureau of Meteorology confirmed the threat of severe and heavy rainfall has eased, however a number of flood warnings remain in place.
“Despite the rain easing, river levels are expected to remain high for several days,” meteorologist Helen Reid said.
Current major flood warnings are in place for the Logan and Bremer Rivers and Warrill Creek.
A moderate warning is in place for the Stanley and Albert Rivers and Lockyer Creek.
Minor flood warnings have been issued for the Brisbane River downstream of Wivenhoe Dam, Maroochy and Noosa Rivers, the Upper Condamine River, and the Mary River.
Power outages smash state
More than 120,000 customers remain without power on Tuesday morning, 45,000 of those are on the Gold Coast.
A spokesman for Energex told NewsWire it was the largest power outage caused by a natural disaster in Queensland’s history.
As of Monday morning, 54 per cent of homes and businesses had their power restored, with plans to have the remaining customers’ power back up and running by the weekend.
Energex confirmed 75 per cent of customers currently affected will have their electricity restored by Wednesday evening, and 95 per cent will be restored by Friday night.
“More than 450,000 individual homes and businesses have been impacted by this event, across a broad area from the Fraser Coast to the NSW border, since Thursday 6 March,” the spokesman said.
“This is the greatest number of power outages in Queensland history caused by a natural disaster.”
Half of shuttered schools to re-open Tuesday
The Crisafulli government confirmed 353 of the 661 state schools that were closed in South East Queensland as a result of the weather are set to open on Tuesday.
“Crews have been working around the clock to assess damage at schools, so they can be safely reopened for students and teachers,” a statement read.
A remaining 129 independent schools and 43 Catholic schools will remain closed on Tuesday.
Dramatic floodwater rescue
Police have urged residents to stay out of flood waters after a woman was rescued from a car trapped among the trees trying to escape the rapidly rising water.
Authorities were called to Forrest Hill-Fernvale Rd about 8.30am Monday after reports a woman’s vehicle had become trapped against trees after the woman tried driving through floodwaters, only to be washed away.
Two officers and the Rural Fire Service and members of the public managed to enter the floodwaters and reach the 69-year-old woman, who was taken to Ipswich Hospital for minor injuries and shock.
Darling Downs District Disaster Coordinator Doug McDonald commended the officers for their bravery and reminded the public to keep out of dangerous floodwaters.
“You cannot drive into floodwaters with the mindset of, ‘it’ll be all right’,” he said.
“We’ve seen time again where people think they can make it across, and then end up needing to be rescued.
“Poor decisions can put your life; your family’s lives and emergency services’ lives at risk every time you decide to risk it.
“What our officers have done this morning is very brave given the circumstances,” he added.
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