North Queensland flooding: Truck drivers and tourists blast ‘atrocious’ highway

A small patch of gravel is now playing host to an assortment of motorhomes and campervans – their occupants having found each other in stranded company on Queensland’s major transport corridor.

Drone shots have emerged revealing a B Double that was trapped in floodwaters after the driver ignored warning signs as rain lashed the Whitsundays.

Emergency crews, including swiftwater teams, were called to the Bruce Highway just south of Proserpine at 2.43am Monday where the truck became caught on the flooded highway.

It is understood a Holden Barina was also washed away in the torrential rain event that has drenched the region after the driver ignored warning signs.

Another 10 vehicles also became trapped on higher ground between two creeks in the same area.

Drone images of flooding at Thompson's Creek on the Bruce Highway looking north. Photos: Robert Murolo

It is understood the B Double is angled across two lanes and the highway will not reopen until late Tuesday if at all.

Traffic is backed up about one kilometre as dozens are stranded along the Bruce Highway.

FULL GUIDE TO FLOOD ROAD CLOSURES

A small patch of gravel is now playing host to an assortment of motorhomes and campervans – their occupants, having found each other in stranded company.

They are all waiting for the waters to subside at Lethebrook, just south of Proserpine.

Yeppoon couple Leanne Sampson and Hugh Lane with Cairns resident Stephen Coates with his Pomeranian companion, Chino, camped out at Lethebrook after the highway was cut because of rain. Picture: Heidi Petith

Yeppoon couple Leanne Sampson and Hugh Lane had embarked on their first trip in their new Coaster headed to Townsville via Bowen.

“We were excited to get away, we had planned to leave on the 15th come hell or high water,” Ms Sampson said.

“We knew it was going to be wet but not this wet.”

Man dead, roads cut, boatie rescued as 1m of rain falls

They are embracing the adventure with plenty of food and drink to get them through.

Drone images of flooding at Thompson's Creek on the Bruce Highway looking north. Photos: Robert Murolo

“We’ve got everything we need, if it takes two days, it takes two days,” Ms Sampson said.

“We’ll just sit here with our cups of tea and red wine.”

Boatie rescued as yacht begins sinking in Qld deluge

Camped beside them is Cairns resident Stephen Coates with his Pomeranian companion, Chino, both returning from Brisbane.

“(The water) is going down but the low tide today doesn’t allow the water to run off,” Mr Coates said.

“We’ll pray for tomorrow.”

Proserpine mum Phillipa Leabeater and daughter Dash Turner, 13, are waiting for the floodwaters to subside over the Bruce Highway at Lethebrook, just south of Proserpine. They have been waiting since Sunday, January 15, 2023. Picture: Heidi Petith

Proserpine mum Phillipa Leabeater said they were waiting for the floodwaters to reside so they could get home after a trip away to Brisbane.

“The road was just atrocious, especially once we got to Sarina,” she said.

“The potholes between Mackay and Midge (Point) are terrible.”

Ms Leabeter said they were fortunate they had somewhere they could stay at Midge Point to ride out the flood.

“We’ve been here five years and I haven’t seen it like this,” she said.

“To think we can still be stranded and can’t get through (the highway) to our home is pretty frustrating.”

Gympie resident Neville Elliott has camped inside his freight truck since becoming stuck in Lethebrook along the Bruce Highway on January 15, 2023. Picture: Heidi Petith

Gympie resident Neville Elliott has camped inside his freight truck since becoming stuck in Lethebrook along the Bruce Highway on Sunday evening.

“I’m going to Cairns (from Brisbane) … hoping to unload and reload and be back by Friday,” Mr Elliott said.

He said the first night of camping in his cabin by the roadside was “annoying” as lights from onlookers kept him awake.

“There were 20 to 30 (trucks) behind me Monday morning and they’re all gone, they’re hoping to go out the back (route) … out through the Belyando into Townsville, but I don’t know if they’ll get stuck there either,” Mr Elliott said.

Margaret and Ralph Cox's Lethebrook home was under threat from rising flood waters as the rain continues to fall in the region

Lethebrook resident Ralph Cox said the waters were “just about as high as it gets” and the cattle farmer hoped the worst of the weather had now passed.

Home to both cattle and cane, Mr Cox explained this typed of rain was nothing new to the area over the years saying he was “born and bred with it”.

“I’ve been through Cyclone debbie … I’m used to it, it’s a normal thing for this time of year,” he said.

Luckily he had been able to move the entirety of his equipment and most animals out of the weather, he said.

He said he was thankful that those unaccounted had managed to swim back to the property this morning.

“They were pretty keen,” Mr Cox said

“They were stuck at one part and I went out on the horse and they followed me back when they saw me.”

With rain expected for at least the next 24-hours locals are encouraged to continue to monitor conditions and to take precautionary measures where necessary.

Originally published as North Queensland flooding: Truck drivers and tourists blast ‘atrocious’ highway