Queensland Floods: 450mm Rainfall Total Triggers 16 Rescues Before National Storm Front
A cold front is expected to drive severe thunderstorms across four eastern states, following a week of extreme rainfall that has saturated Queensland's southeast region.
By Lina Lewis ·
Queensland fire crews performed 16 swift-water rescues after several days of torrential rain saturated the state's southeast, with the Bureau of Meteorology forecasting that the heavy weather will soon expand to the rest of the eastern coast.
The Bureau of Meteorology has issued severe thunderstorm and flash flood warnings for South Australia, Victoria, New South Wales, and Tasmania. Nine specific flood warnings remain active for southern Queensland, while severe storms are predicted to impact Melbourne's eastern suburbs and central South Australia.
Senior Bureau of Meteorology meteorologist David Crock stated that the current conditions in Queensland are more consistent with peak summer months than with October. He noted that large amounts of moisture have been drawn into the region, causing rainfall totals to accumulate over a period of seven to 10 days across Queensland and northern New South Wales.
The most intense rainfall occurred on Thursday, when downpours stretched from Caboolture south to the Border Ranges. Some locations in that corridor received well over 200mm of rain in a single day. This sudden influx of water triggered flash flooding and resulted in hundreds of emergency calls to the State Emergency Service.
In the Sunshine Coast hinterlands and Caboolture, seven-day rainfall totals reached between 300mm and 400mm, with specific pockets recording 450mm. The persistent rain forced several schools to close on Friday as roads became impassable and water levels rose rapidly in low-lying areas.
Rescue operations included a dramatic intervention in Caboolture where firefighters used a raft to reach an elderly man clinging to the roof of his submerged vehicle. The weather system is expected to continue its eastward progression, with severe thunderstorms hitting Rockhampton, Bundaberg, and the Sunshine Coast hinterlands on Saturday.
A cold front is scheduled to cross New South Wales on Sunday, bringing severe thunderstorms to western New South Wales, north-eastern Victoria, Sydney, and Brisbane. Crock indicated that the threat of severe storms will extend across a wide portion of inland eastern Australia as the front moves through the region.
