Severe flooding and weather continue to ravage parts of Queensland with the flood crisis now claiming a seventh life while four people remain missing.
A 59-year-old Carseldine man died yesterday when he was swept away by floodwaters when he tried to cross Cabbage Tree Creek Road on foot. Three men are reported to be missing in floodwaters at Goodna while authorities are also looking for a car that was swept away at Yatala according to the Australian Associated Press.
As of late this afternoon another person was confirmed dead, bringing the death toll in Queensland to eight. The bodies of a man and his dog were found submerged in a car in the Currumbin Valley with police believing the man drove 30 to 40 metres into floodwaters before his car was swept away.
Queensland Premier Annastacia Palaszczuk has urged residents to stay at home as the weather continues to wreak havoc.
“We never expected this rain,” she said in a press conference.
“This rain bomb is unrelenting,”
“We want people to be safe [and] everyone can see what’s happening around their local suburbs,”
“For the next 24 hours we do expect the rain to be easing but of course that doesn’t mean we’re out of the woods because we’re going to see these levels for the next three days.”
It was reported by the Bureau of Meteorology that the Brisbane River peaked at 3.85 metres earlier this morning with another peak of 3.7m predicted for Tuesday morning at 9 am. Majority of south-east Queensland areas saw rainfall in excess of 200mm with parts of the Sunshine Coast experiencing rainfall of 400mm+ in the past 24 hours.
On Sunday Ms Palaszczuk announced that SEQ schools would he closed until further notice while she also encouraged people to work from home over the next few days if possible. According to the Queensland Fire and Emergency Services over “9000 requests for storm and flood damage assistance [were made] and swiftwater crews have attended almost 600 rescue incidents”.
While the rain may be easing in Queensland, northern NSW is next in the firing line with the same severe weather conditions and flooding predicted to affect areas in the coming days.
