Prepare now: emergency alerts as deluge raises rivers
Residents in two regions are preparing to evacuate after emergency alerts were issued for floodwaters due to rising rivers after days of rain.
Anxious residents in two regional areas are waiting for floodwaters to subside after emergency alerts were issued for rising river levels following days of heavy rain.
People in the Western Downs and South Burnett in Queensland have been told to be prepared to evacuate homes ahead of possible inundation.
“Residents in low-lying areas should PREPARE NOW,” Queensland Police said in an alert early on Thursday.
“Warn neighbours, secure belongings and enact your emergency plan.”
It follows days of heavy rain across southeast Queensland which caused flooding and power outages.
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Conditions are forecast to ease but the state’s north could next be in the firing line of torrential downpours with a possible storm system forming off the coast.
Western Downs mayor Andrew Smith said the council was monitoring the situation in Jandowae after the local dam started spilling overnight.
“We still have water coming into the dam. It is very much a watch and see,” he told ABC Radio.
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“We’ll wait and see what unfolds during the day but I think the forecasts are very favourable.”
A major flood warning has also been issued for downstream of the Logan River at Beaudesert, expected to reach 8.3 metres on Thursday.
However, weather conditions are forecast to ease in the southeast on Thursday, as a southeasterly surge from NSW pushes north.
“That means showers will start clearing from the southeastern areas while continuing in parts further to the north,” the Bureau of Meteorology’s Miriam Bradbury said.
As residents in the southeast await floodwaters to subside, Queensland’s north is preparing for the next deluge of wet weather.
The bureau has warned a trough offshore the coast of Townsville will drift northward from Thursday and linger for days.
A weak embedded low may form in the trough later in the week but the bureau believes it is unlikely to become a tropical cyclone.
Daily rainfall totals up to 60mm are forecast on Thursday and up to 80mm on Friday but there could be heavier localised falls of up to 200mm.
“There is significant uncertainty in the timing and location of the heaviest rainfall, though small coastal catchments may receive the highest rainfall totals,” the bureau said.
“Localised river level rises and flash flooding are likely within the areas of heaviest rainfall, with isolated minor riverine flooding possible.”
