Granville Bridge reopens after Mary River flooding event

Granville Bridge has reopened after closing due to rising floodwaters while the Lamington Bridge currently remains closed. UPDATES, ROAD CLOSURES.

Staff reporters

5 min read

March 30, 2025 - 10:14AM

Floodwaters inundate roads near Chinaman Creek in Tiaro on Saturday. Photo: Jacob Somers

Fraser Coast

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The Granville Bridge has reopened after closing due to floodwaters on Saturday night.

It comes after the Bruce Highway was blocked at Apple Tree Creek after Childers near Bundaberg was battered by a storm with torrential rain on Saturday night.

The Department of Main Roads advised that as of 8pm Saturday all lanes were impacted.

The Bruce Highway reopened at Tiaro about 6pm after being cut during Saturday’s rain event but a major flood warning for Tiaro remained in place Sunday morning.

The Lamington Bridge and Granville Bridges closed on Saturday at Maryborough.

As of 8pm Saturday the weather bureau warned an “unstable air mass combined with a weak trough” was producing heavy rainfall and a thunderstorm warning was issued for Bundaberg, Gladstone, Hervey Bay and the Rockhampton regions.

The Mary River at Maryborough was also rising and being watched closely.

Granville Bridge closed to traffic about 7pm.

Flooding at Chinaman's Creek at Tiaro.

Minor flooding was also occurring in nearby Howard and the council bridge over the Burrum River between Torbanlea and Howard was closed as a precaution.

Water was over the road on the Bruce Hwy and some back roads at Tiaro, and the Department of Main Roads warned drivers to keep clear of floodwaters around Tiaro and Glenorchy, south of Maryborough where a man was killed in a crash on Friday afternoon.

Tiaro resident Samantha Thompson shared a video of Tahiti Rd under and said she and her family were cut off by floodwaters but had thankfully prepared in case.

She said ex-Tropical Cyclone had totally missed their property two weeks ago but this week they were smashed by 172mm of rain from Tuesday to Friday.

After sharing photos showing the flooding across Tahiti Rd, Ms Thompson shared another photo when the waters receded showing the shocking damage done to the road.

She urged drivers travelling between Maryborough and Gympie not to try and take the detour down Tahiti Rd even though some navigation systems were sending drivers that way.

Flood damage to Tahiti Rd at Tiaro.

She recorded 150mm overnight to 7am Saturday.

Minor flooding was occurring along the Burrum River at Howard on Saturday night but the Cherwell River at Pacific Haven was receding and the threat had been reduced to moderate.

River levels were elevated along the Isis, Gregory, and Elliott Rivers, with minor to moderate flooding occurring on Saturday night.

Earlier, as of 8.37am Saturday the major warning for Pacific Haven was in place as the Burrum and Cherwell Rivers was rising.

“Major flooding is expected along the Cherwell River at Pacific Haven during Saturday morning,” the Bureau of Meteorology warned.

Flooding on the Bruce Hwy south of Tiaro. Photo: David Oxley

“Further rainfall is possible over the next few days and the situation is being closely monitored, and this warning will be updated as required.”

Fraser Coast Mayor George Seymour said houses in Pacific Haven usually flooded at 4.5m but sheds could get water though.

He said as of 9am the SES was responding to about 10 jobs there, mainly sandbagging.

The Burrum River at Howard was at 6.51m and rising, above the minor flood level (6m) and could peak near 7.50 metres early Saturday afternoon with minor flooding.

A still captured by the Fraser Coast Disaster Dashboard flood camera at Lenthalls Dam gate.

The Cherwell River at Pacific Haven was at 3.39m and rising with moderate flooding and was expected to exceed the major flood level (3.50m) in the next few hours, possibly peaking near 3.80m late Saturday morning.

River levels were also rising along the Isis and Gregory Rivers with moderate flooding recorded on the Elliott River.

It comes just weeks after record flash flooding left hundreds of homes and businesses damaged in Hervey Bay and residents across the Wide Bay endured a nervous night.

Heavy rain was continuing to fall across the region early Saturday with up to 80mm recorded in some parts within just a few hours (more than 200m has fallen in the past 72 hours).

The Bureau of Meteorology has issued an alert for people in the Wide Bay Burnett to “stay informed” with flash flooding likely.

The warning was originally issued for Hervey Bay and Bundaberg on Friday night.

Tiaro at Chinaman's Creek on Saturday. Photo: Darren Scott

In the early hours of Saturday morning however, the warning area had been updated to Hervey Bay, Maryborough, K’gari, Gympie, Rainbow Beach and Tiaro.

The Mary River was flooding at Kidd Bridge, Gympie and Tiaro and the Lamington Bridge was expected to be closed as a precaution while dozens of roads across the region were also closed (see list at bottom of article).

“A moist air mass offshore of Wide Bay is producing heavy falls in showers and thunderstorms through the southern Wide Bay and Burnett this morning,” the BOM alert reads.

“Severe thunderstorms are likely to produce heavy rainfall that may lead to flash flooding in the warning area over the next several hours.”

By 8am Saturday the warning zone had moved further south with Gympie, Noosa Heads, Cooroy, Nambour and Rainbow Beach still on alert while rain continued to fall in Maryborough and Hervey Bay.

On March 9 residents in Hervey Bay woke to a wall of water rushing through low-lying homes after up to 500mm fell in some parts of the city.

Timmy Rhodes took this image of good Samaritans checking cars in the RSL carpark as flash flooding hit Hervey Bay during the wild weather brought by ex-Tropical Cyclone Alfred.

Key areas of concern include Freshwater St and the Bay Plaza complex at Pialba where the Woolworths remains closed along with several other surrounding businesses while some of the stores in the complex have only recently reopened.

The weather bureau is expected to issue an update just after midnight.

Emergency services advise people to:

* Park your car undercover away from trees.

* Close doors and windows.

* Keep asthma medications close by. Storms and wind can trigger asthma attacks.

* Charge mobile phones and power banks in case the power goes out.

* Put your pets somewhere safe and make sure they can be identified in case they get lost.

* Do not drive now unless you have to because conditions are dangerous.

* Tell friends, family and neighbours in the area.

* Go inside a strong building now. Stay inside until the storm has passed.