Major flood warnings are in place on Monday morning for Brisbane’s CBD as well as regions from Gympie in Queensland to Grafton in northern New South Wales.
Here’s a summary of events so far, and what is forecast to come:
A major flood warning has been issued for Brisbane’s CBD. Waters are expected to peak at 4.0 metres at high tide, expected around 8.30am (9.30am AEDT). This is slightly below the 4.46 metres experienced in 2011, however the two flood events are very different and some suburbs are already experiencing worse flooding.
Seven people have now died in the region’s floods. Meanwhile, two further men are missing – one in Brisbane and one in Lismore. 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.
A 54-year-old man also died in flood waters on the NSW Central Coast early on Friday morning, in a separate flooding event.
Thousands of households are likely to be impacted by flood waters on Monday. On Sunday, the Queensland premier, Annastacia Palaszczuk, estimated more than 1,400 houses had been impacted by that morning’s high tide, when the river peaked at 3.1 metres. Since then, parts of Brisbane have received more than 400mm of rain, but the city will receive a reprieve from heavy rain today, with the system moving south.
Northern New South Wales is now in the firing line. Major flood warnings have been issued for the Brunswick, Wilsons and Clarence rivers, and a moderate to major flood warning for the Tweed. In Lismore, the BoM warned at 3am that water was about to overtop the city’s levee. The 1974 flood level of 12.15 metres is likely to be exceeded at 9am, and waters may reach 13.5 metres by Monday night, authorities warned.
Major flood warnings were issued for several Queensland rivers on Monday morning. In Queensland, these included the upper and lower Brisbane River, Ipswich’s Bremer River, as well as the Logan, Albert, Mary, Noosa, Condamine, Balonne rivers as well as Warrill, Lockyer and Laidley creeks.
Gympie has recorded its highest flood in a century. The Mary River exceeded 23m on Sunday morning, surpassing the 1999 floods (21.95m), as well as subsequent floods in 2011 and 2013, and the highest level recorded since 1898. More than 500 households and 130 businesses in Gympie are estimated to be affected by flood waters, with 550 people in emergency accommodation.
Nearly 1,000 schools are closed in south-east Queensland. A work-from-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 major highways. Queensland’s transport minister, Mark Bailey, said on Sunday morning there were nearly 1,000 roads closed across the region, including the Bruce Highway in both directions between Brisbane and the Sunshine Coast, and the Warrego Highway between Brisbane and Toowoomba. Train services between Brisbane and the Sunshine Coast were also not operating.
Disaster assistance has been activated for 10 Queensland councils. The funds will go to cleanup 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.
More 1.4m of rain has been recorded in 72 hours in some places. Mount Glorious, north-west of Brisbane, recorded the most rain in the past three days, including 461mm in the 24 hours to 9am Sunday. Several Brisbane suburbs received more than 400mm of rain since 9am Sunday.
Water was being released from Brisbane’s Wivenhoe Dam on Sunday. The dam had reached 160% of its drinking water capacity on Sunday, up from 59% on Thursday. However, that represented only 40% of its flood mitigation capacity. 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.
