Kapri

Just when you thought it couldn't get any worse

Clickety click

Pollyana

Biiig problem - displaced from their homes too and turning up in very odd places.

And more rain on the way as well

BigH68

crocs will eat all the snakes

Pollyana

Bit of luck! They reckon they are turning up in all kinds of odd places though - people cleaning up are finding them between mattresses and bedsteads and that kind of thing

BigH68

A prime example of why people shouldnt drive thro floodwaters

Pollyana

Updates for the Gympie area:
10pm yesterday
Motorists are advised that the Wide Bay Highway is closed between the Bruce Highway, Bells Bridge (100meters east of Bruce Highway) and Sexton and Kilkivan. There are dangerous wash-out sections of the road between Sexton and Kilkivan. Motorists are advised to avoid the area as it is considered dangerous due to floodwaters. Sexton and Kilkivan are currently experience flooding.
2am today
The Mary River at 12.74 metres, resulting in the closure of the Kidd Bridge. It is expected to remain closed for some time. Bell's Bridge remains under water and is also closed.
And current Severe Weather Warning - Sunshine Coast/Gympie/Wide Bay Burnett

Synoptic Situation: At 10pm EST, an upper level low was located offshore from the Capricornia district while a low level trough was located near the Wide Bay coast.

Heavy rain and isolated thunderstorms are currently occurring about the southern Wide Bay and Burnett district and are forecast to develop about the Sunshine Coast during Saturday morning, and remaining parts of the Southeast Coast district on Saturday afternoon. Heavy rain may lead to localised flash flooding and/or worsen existing river flooding.

Recent events: Rainfall of up to 220mm over the Mary River catchment since 9am Friday has caused rapid river rises there, see separate Flood Warning for
details.



LOCALISED HEAVY RAIN AND POSSIBLE FLASH FLOODING LIKELY THROUGHOUT WIDE BAY, SUNSHINE COAST, BRISBANE, GOLD COAST, SOUTH EAST QUEENSLAND.

Pollyana

SEVERE WEATHER WARNING
for heavy rainfall leading to localised flash flooding and potentially worsening
the existing river flood situation
For people in the Southeast Coast and Wide Bay and Burnett districts.

Issued at 11:00 am on Saturday 8 January 2011

Heavy rain overnight has weakened recently to showers and isolated
thunderstorms. Rain areas are expected to return to the Southeast Coast and Wide Bay and Burnett districts from this afternoon, and increase to moderate to heavy falls at times tonight and Sunday. Heavy rain may lead to localised flash flooding and/or worsen existing river flooding.

Recent events: Rainfall of up to 304mm over the Mary River catchment in the 24 hours to 9am Saturday. A Flood Warning is current for this area.


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There are several road and bridge closures in the Gympie and Maryborough areas, including the Inglewood Bridge on the Bruce Highway south of Gympie and Bells Bridge on the Wide Bay Highway.

Water is still rising in the Mary River.

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FLOOD WARNING MARY RIVER
Rainfall totals of up to 300mm have been recorded since 9am Friday causing major flooding between Gympie and Tiaro. River levels at Maryborough will rise further today with a peak expected during Sunday of around 9 metres, possibly higher.
Moderate to major flooding is occurring in Wide Bay Creek, Munna and Tinana
Creeks. Further rain is forecast.

Major flood levels are rising between Miva and Tiaro and along Wide Bay Creek at Brooyar. Rises to 18 metres are expected at Tiaro overnight with further rises possible.

River levels at Maryborough will rise further today with a peak expected during Sunday of around 9 metres, possibly higher. For comparison, the 1999 peak flood level was 8.75 metres.

Minor flooding is occurring in the upper Mary River between Moy Pocket and Dagun Pocket. A moderate flood peak of just over 14 metres is expected at Gympie during Saturday. At 10am Saturday, the river level at Gympie was 13.94 metres and rising. Moderate flood levels are occurring along Six Mile Creek at Cooran and are expected to fall through today.

================================

Police and emergency services would like to advise the Maryborough community of road closures as a result of the Mary River rising overnight.

The Lamington Bridge is shut to all motorists limiting access to the Bruce Highway and Walker Street should be used as an alternate route.

The Granville Bridge is also shut to both vehicles and pedestrians and the community is advised that at present there is no access to Granville from Maryborough.

Pollyana

I'm making no comment on this one......

THE Government plane, King Air, was hit by lightning this afternoon while carrying Premier Anna Bligh and flood recovery co-ordinator Major General Mick Slater.
The bolt of lightning hit the twin engined turbo prop airplane about 2.10pm, when Ms Bligh and Maj-Gen Slater were returning from a tour of flood-ravaged Theodore.
A Government spokesman said there was a loud bang and a flash of white light through the plane.

Pollyana

Many Brisbane roads are currently affected by flood water and by releases from Wivenhoe. Please be careful and DON'T DRIVE THROUGH OR PLAY IN FLOOD WATER.

Heavy rain is likely to affect Brisbane, the Gold Coast and the Sunshine Coast as well as Wide Bay Burnett overnight.



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A TEENAGER has drowned after she jumped off a bridge into a flooded creek at Cherbourg, north of Kingaroy yesterday.
Police and State Emergency Services (SES) crews found the 19-year-old's body just after 7pm. The woman had been missing for two hours.
A police spokeswoman said the woman was swimming with friends but there was large amounts of debris in the water due to flooding.

bcworld

Sunshine Coast has now had about 300mm since NY...definitely time for a change of name!

welshviking

I'm flooded in! No chance of getting to work tomorrow (woo hoo!)

Can't get to Noosa, can't get to Eumundi. North Maroochy river just down the street is VERY high, saw water gushing across the road on the outskirts of Eumundi.

The fun starts again!


Hope you're all watching the flood appeal and giving some cash!!

Alfresco

Maybe they were just having a good time.

Pollyana

The support was so massive that more than 12,000 calls within the first minute forced the phone system to crash, initially delaying calls to the two designated Flood Relief Appeal call centres at Zillmere and Mount Gravatt.

Unfortunately when the system crashed, in the middle of a torrential downpour across southeast Queensland and Brisbane, it took the lines in the 132500 call centre with it........

If anyone in Qld tried to call the SES tonight and couldn't get through, that's the reason, and don't take it personally, you are just one of thousands Now if anyone could deliver me a vat of wine to get me through the rest of the night, that'd be lovely......

Pollyana

A quick summary .........you have to be here to believe it.

Almost 3,000 homes are blacked out in Gympie, the Mary Valley and the Sunshine Coast hinterland in south-east Queensland.

Around 100 homes were evacuated about midnight in Dalby as the town's Myall Creek rose rapidly as heavy rain fell.

Flash-flooding in the Lockyer Creek, west of Brisbane, has inundated homes and businesses for the third time in the past two weeks.

Lockyer Valley Mayor Steve Jones says about 12 Grantham residents were forced to leave their homes overnight.

Torrential rain raises alarm for Maryborough, Gympie, Wide Bay, Kingaroy, Cooloola and Brisbane

THE major highway north of Brisbane was cut last night and almost 3000 homes were left without power as Queensland's flood crisis moved to the southeast corner.

As the clean-up continues in central Queensland and the west, up to 90mm of rain fell in the state's capital city yesterday, with some parts of the Sunshine Coast sopping up more than 200mm in 24 hours.

Police were forced to close the Bruce Highway near Elimbah, north of Caboolture, when the King John Creek flooded north and southbound lanes about 10 o'clock last night.

bcworld

Have heard Maleny quoted at 340mm+ actually!