Another man pulled from floodwater and streets cut off as severe thunderstorm smash Gladstone and surrounds

Thunderstorms and rainfall in excess of 200mm has smashed parts of Central Queensland this week as another man has been pulled from a car submerged in floodw ater. See the footage from the ground.

Another Central Queensland man has been pulled from floodwaters as heavy falls and severe thunderstorms continue to smash the region.

SES crews were called out to Orange Creek, in the Banana Shire, following reports of a man inside a vehicle which was submerged in rapidly rising waters.

Upon arrival, it is understood a farmer living on a nearby property had assisted the man in removing him from a vehicle and placing him on a dry ground which was isolated by water over the road either side.

Emergency services attended the scene at Prospect Creek Goovigen Rd, Orange Creek, just before 8am.

A Swift Water Rescue crew was required and retrieved the man about 10.40am before being brought to safety.

Swift Water Rescue crews have been required across Queensland to retrieve people from cars and homes amid recent floods. Picture: (earlier) Patrick Hamilton

EARLIER: A man was pulled from his vehicle and a pair was transported to hospital in rising floodwaters overnight as Gladstone and parts of Central Queensland were smashed by severe thunderstorms and rainfall in excess of 200mm.

An incredible 30,623 lightning strikes were recorded in the area.

Flash flooding cut off Gladstone’s CBD overnight as some residents recorded more than 280mm in a matter of hours while thunderstorms smashed the region.

The SES responded to at least eight calls for assistance near Gladstone in the late hours as flash flooding impacted homes and stranded motorists.

Rising floodwaters inundated some residents in Gladstone as severe thunderstorms lashed the region for multiple hours overnight. Picture: Bryanne Breslin

A man and woman were transported to hospital as a precaution after their property was impacted by flash flooding about 11.30pm in Barney Point, Gladstone.

While responding to this incident, emergency crews became aware of a sole occupant trapped in a taxi near Wood Street, Barney Point.

The man was pulled from the vehicle and handed over to paramedics; he declined hospital transportation.

Paramedics remained on standby for several hours from about 11pm as concern grew for some low-lying properties.

SES crews assisted multiple residents to temporarily move to higher ground in a unit building on Wood St, as flood waters began to rise.

Crews remained in the area until about 2am, assisting residents and performing welfare checks along Wood St and Moura Cr.

A QFES spokesman said crews reported flash flooding of at least 1m in low-lying areas.

One resident, Bryanne Breslin said while no properties were significantly damaged, she witnessed at least three cars and a motorbike become stuck in the floodwater as motorists attempted to cross streets which were inundated.

The Bureau of Meteorology forecast the intense rain and sever thunderstorms for Gladstone and surrounds late last night. Picture: BOM Twitter

“There was no major damage to any of our houses or belongings it was just little things that are replaceable, the bins were floating on the other side of the road though,” Ms Breslin said.

Another resident, Diane Giles shared a video to social media recording more than 280mm in the early hours since 12am Thursday, as concentrated heavy falls smashed Gladstone’s CBD.

The Bureau of Meteorology issued severe thunderstorm warnings about 11.30pm Wednesday.

Gladstone residents went to check to see if there was an occupant in this vehicle, but thankfully it was empty. Picture: Bryanne Breslin

The storms hit the Capricornia and Wide Bay coastlines the heaviest, with 155mm recorded at Calliope in the hour to 11pm.

Warning continued for Gladstone and Seventeen Seventy until after 2.20am.

Eight hours after the torrential rain subsided, a Moura Cr resident was still assessing the damage with a flood line visible on the boat and yellow van. Picture: Nilsson Jones

Barney Point resident, Lindsay, said he was awake until about 3am as he watched flood waters rise and damage his vehicles and property surrounding the property.

“My daughter warned me but I figured it would be okay, this is the most rain I’ve seen in such a short time in well over a decade,” he said.

“I moved the cars that I could to higher ground but as you can see, the water came right up and I’ve spent the morning assessing the damage and washing down my stuff.”

Ergon Energy reported 30,623 lightning strikes detected within 150km of the Gladstone CBD in the hours from 2pm Wednesday.

Hundreds of customers lost power during the storms when automatic protection systems were activated.

Earlier Wednesday afternoon, 249 customers in Biloela lost their power for about five hours from 5pm.

West Gladstone was the epicentre of the outages late at night, with 103 customers losing power for almost seven hours from 11pm onwards.

With water rising about 1m according to SES crews, residents had water damage their vehicle and electronics as thunderstorms ravaged Gladstone. Picture: Nilsson Jones

An Ergon spokesman said crews responded and restored power as soon as it was safe to do so.

“It’s a timely reminder for people that if they see power lines down after storms to stay at least 10m away, always assume they are live and to call 000,” he said.

Gladstone recorded 216mm on Wednesday, according to the BOM website, including 120mm in just two hours to midnight. There were heavy falls on the Fraser Coast as well, with 89mm at Magnolia.

Originally published as Another man pulled from floodwater and streets cut off as severe thunderstorm smash Gladstone and surrounds