A major flood event has impacted communities from Maryborough in Queensland to Grafton in New South Wales, with Brisbane’s CBD inundated and a record-breaking flood in Lismore.
Here’s a summary of events so far, and what is forecast to come:
Eight people have now died in the floods. The bodies of a man in his 50s and his dog were found in a submerged car in the Currumbin valley on the Gold Coast on Monday. A 59-year-old man drowned on Brisbane’s north side on Sunday afternoon after being swept away by flood waters while on foot. It was the third death in Brisbane after men were killed in Indooroopilly on Sunday morning and Stones Corner on Friday night. There have been two deaths in Gympie, one in the Sunshine Coast hinterland, and a State Emergency Service worker who died while trying to rescue a family at Coolana, west of Ipswich. Police are searching for two more missing men, and there are reports of a car being swept away at Yatala.
More than 15,000 homes are estimated to have been flooded in Brisbane. The Brisbane River peaked at 3.85 metres on Monday morning, below the 4.46 metres experienced in 2011. However, the two flood events are very different and some suburbs experienced worse flooding this time around. More than 54,000 homes are without power.
The rain has largely stopped in Queensland. However, major flood warnings remain for the Mary, Logan, Brisbane and Bremer rivers, and Warrill Creek.
Flood-prone Lismore in NSW has had a record-breaking flood. Thousands of residents required evacuating, with many rescued from their roofs after flood waters breached the levee before dawn. The entire CBD remains under water. The town recorded 181mm of rain in 30 minutes at one stage. At 3pm on Monday, the Wilsons River level was 14.37 metres and steady, more than two metres above the record flood level of February 1954 (12.27 metres).
There were 15 evacuation orders current for NSW at 4pm Monday. As well as Lismore, evacuation orders were in place in Murwillumbah, Brunswick Heads, Billinudgel, Ocean Shores, Mullumbimby, Coraki and Southgate. The flood levee has been breached in Murwillumbah, and river levels there and in nearby Tumbulgum and Chinderah have already surpassed flood records from 2017 and 1974. Major flooding is occurring at Grafton, Ulmarra and Maclean, similar to the March 2021 event, with the BoM advising further rises are possible.
The weather system is continuing to track south in NSW. Further riverine flooding is expected for the Northern Rivers and Mid North Coast on Monday, and will extend further south to the Central Coast, Sydney, Illawarra and South Coast catchments Tuesday into Wednesday. Major flood warnings remain current for the Tweed, Wilsons, Richmond, Clarence, Orara and Bellinger rivers.
Rainfall totals have been as high as 1.5 metres in a week. “Some of the rainfall totals that we’ve seen over the course of this event have been approaching rainfall totals that we would normally expect over the course of a year,” said Bureau of Meteorology forecaster Diana Eden.
Gympie also recorded its highest flood in a century. The Mary River was receding on Monday, having reached its highest level since 1898. Up to 3,600 homes could be affected.
Nearly 1,000 schools are closed in south-east Queensland. A work-from-home order has also been issued. Some schools in northern NSW were also advising they would be operating under minimal supervision on Monday due to the floods.
Hundreds of roads are closed, including the M1 at the Tweed River. Trains, buses and ferries have been suspended across much of south-east Queensland and other major highways have been cut by flood waters. However, the Bruce Highway north of Brisbane is set to reopen on Monday.
Disaster assistance has been activated for 10 Queensland councils. The funds will go to clean-up efforts in the Fraser Coast, Gold Coast, Gympie, Ipswich, Lockyer Valley, Logan, Noosa, North Burnett, Sunshine Coast and Toowoomba LGAs, and will be jointly funded by the federal and state governments. Late on Saturday, the Insurance Council of Australia declared an insurance catastrophe. It is expected an announcement will be made about northern New South Wales regions in coming days.
A disaster recovery payment of $1000 for adults and $400 for children is available for those impacted by the floods, with 26 localities across Queensland and NSW becoming eligible to access the payment from Tuesday. A disaster recovery allowance to assist employees, small businesses and farmers who have lost income will also be provided to the 26 localities, as will payments for personal hardship and grants for local councils.
Water was still being released from Brisbane’s Wivenhoe Dam on Monday. The dam was at 180% of its drinking water capacity on Monday, despite water being released since Sunday morning. It rose rapidly from 59% capacity on Thursday. About 2.2 million megalitres of water, the equivalent of four Sydney harbours, has flowed into the Wivenhoe and Somerset Dams in recent days. In 2011, releases from Wivenhoe contributed to flooding in Brisbane and Ipswich. Flood releases were also occurring from Somerset and North Pine dams, while 20 ungated dams were overflowing on Sunday morning.
