The Bureau of Meteorology has cancelled a severe thunderstorm warning that was in place for people in the Somerset, Sunshine Coast and Moreton Bay areas in Queensland.
Severe weather warnings for Sydney, the Illawarra and Central Tablelands were also cancelled earlier, as the flood clean-up continues in south-east Queensland and northern NSW.
Look back on our blog as it happened.
Key events
- Severe thunderstorm warning cancelled for SEQ
- Severe weather warning for Sydney cancelled
- Evacuation centres in south-east Queensland
- Do I need to collect my child from school?
- Grantham residents evacuated in the Lockyer Valley
- Key takeaways from the Queensland Premier's press conference:
- IN FULL: Watch today's press conference from Queensland's Premier
- Urgent plea from Lismore councillor to donate cash, not goods
- Current evacuation centres in NSW:
- More evacuations ordered in Sydney
Live updates
By Daniel Colasimone
NSW evacuation alerts
By Daniel Colasimone
Where to find emergency assistance and information
-
For emergency assistance, contact SES in NSW or QLD on 132 500.
-
If your life is at risk, call Triple Zero (000) immediately.
- For the latest weather updates visit the Bureau of Meteorology in Queensland here or in NSW here
- ABC Emergency contains planning and advice, an incident map and more
- Roads and bridges may be impacted by flash flooding. You can find more information in Queensland here
- Other emergency updates can be found at Queensland Fire and Emergency Services
- If you're not sure what to do when there's a flood, here's the best way to plan
Listen to ABC Local Radio for regular updates:
- ABC Wide Bay on 100.1fm + 855am or stream online
- ABC Brisbane on 612am or online
- ABC Sunshine Coast on 90.3fm Nambour and Gympie 95.3fm or the live stream
- ABC North Coast on 94.5fm or online here
By Georgia Hitch
Signing off!
That's it from me tonight. We'll be back with a fresh blog early tomorrow to keep you updated on those severe storms in south-east Queensland and northern NSW.
Until then, I hope you stay as safe and dry as can be.
By Georgia Hitch
How to know when it's safe to return after an evacuation
NSW SES has put out a guide for people who may be returning to their homes after being evacuated over the past few days.
It's important to note the SES will issue an "all clear" when it's safe for you to return.
By Georgia Hitch
More Queensland public transport services tomorrow
More public transport is coming back online in south-east Queensland after the major flooding earlier this week.
TransLink has flagged a number of services will resume from tomorrow, but that there are also still routes and services that've been cancelled or disrupted.
You can find out what services are back up and running from tomorrow here.
By Georgia Hitch
Qld school closure questions
Will schools definitely remain closed tomorrow in Brisbane even though it seems that the threat of severe thunderstorms is lessening?
-Year 12 Student
Hey year 12 student! Going off what Education Minister Grace Grace and the Premier have said, schools will definitely be closed tomorrow (except for vulnerable children and those of essential workers). I know people were left a little perplexed by the sudden warning to pull kids out of school today, only for the blue sky to shine through, but there are more severe storms forecast for tomorrow and Saturday.
The disclaimer I'd put on that is that severe storms and systems like this are more volatile and so therefore harder for BoM to predict with the accuracy they usually do!
My non-government school in SE-QLD has said that the shut down only applies to government schools and they will still be open. However, according to Minister Grace, all schools (Both government and non government) must be closed. Can you please let me know whether they have to be closed or not
-In response to schools
Mm that is interesting (and I'm sure confusing) indeed. I've only seen the advice you mention from the government and the Minister where she specifically said it's government AND non-government schools that'll be closed. Not sure I can be much more help than that, sorry!
By Georgia Hitch
A moment for some good news
I know there's been a few of these tales over the past couple of days, but given the week we've all had I figure the more the merrier.
If you want a break from the doom, check out this story of a local Tweed Heads schoolteacher, Matt Lynch, who took his tinnie and rescued a number of people in flood-ravaged waters.
"They directed us to a nearby house that was closer to going under [and] that had animals," Mr Lynch said.
"A couple of goats, dogs, cat, chickens.
"Threw them in the boat, then got back to the house, then got sent to the bridge to collect a pregnant lady and her kids and then another lady who was in labour.
"Then there were few elderly people who were poor health, a lady midway through chemo, so people that really needed to get out."
By Georgia Hitch
Thunderstorm warning for Queensland coast cancelled
After less than an hour the BoM have now cancelled the severe thunderstorm warning it issued for the coastal area between Bundaberg and Gladstone on the Queensland coast.
There's still a weather system bringing rain to the area but it's no longer considered severe.
By Georgia Hitch
'Wouldn't hurt to get a tetanus shot'
Queensland Fire and Emergency Service state duty coordinator Superintendent Simon Evans said the SES responded to 1,022 calls since 3pm today, and there were another six swift water rescues since 3pm Wednesday.
He warned people to be careful of trees and retaining walls which could fall over due to wind and more rain.
“They could be very dangerous,” he said.
“The catchments this morning responded very quickly this morning to the rain and we ended up issuing emergency alerts to the Sunshine Coast, Grantham and then Brisbane.
“The thing to be aware of heading into the weekend is the threat from the weather.
“As we move into recovery mode, people need to be aware of the dangers that have been left behind. That’s those weakened trees, there’s also chemical residue, broken glass, downed power lines and all those other hazards.
“Use personal protective equipment and be very careful.”
Superintendent Evans said for those helping clean up, there were “a lot of unknowns so it wouldn’t hurt to [get a tetanus shot]”.
He said there were still people driving into floodwaters in cars, and crews responded to one this evening.
“Please don’t drive into floodwaters,” Superintendent Evans said.
“The water might only be ankle deep but underneath there might be massive infrastructure damage.”
He asked residents in south-east Queensland to “keep your phones on and charged and listen in case those emergency alerts come out”.
Reporting by Alicia Nally.
By Georgia Hitch
Busy day for NSW SES in Hunter region
NSW SES Commissioner Carlene York told the ABC's 7.30 program despite Sydney not copping the extreme weather that was forecast, the SES have still had a busy day further north and north-west.
"The weather has spun back on itself, up into the Central Coast and up into the Hunter," she said.
"We've been extremely busy up there."
Commissioner York said crews had been on the ground in Lismroe trying to help residents, while also keeping an eye out for the next band of bad weather.
"Looking at the Hunter and severe weather forecasts for up there, as well as up at Lismore and around the Northern Rivers, another thunderstorm band is foring and it's forecast to have some hail," she said.
By Georgia Hitch
Which schools are closed in Qld tomorrow?
Hey! Thanks for your amazing work. What schools if any will be cancelled tomorrow in Queensland? Do I need to send my kid to school tomorrow?
-Queenslander
Hey Queenslander, all schools in south-east Queensland are going to be closed to most students tomorrow.
Schools will only be open for children of essential workers and vulnerable children.
As for who counts as an essential worker, this is how the Queensland government defined it for COVID-19 purposes:
"Someone who provides essential services, and who is unable to work from home."
"This includes but is not limited to doctors, nurses and other front-line medical staff, retail workers, haulage drivers and police officers."
Hope that helps!
By Georgia Hitch
Storm cells on Queensland coast
On that severe thunderstorm warning for the Queensland coast between Bundaberg and Gladstone, BOM forecaster Lauren Pattie said some “little [storm] cells” have started to pick up in the region as predicted.
She said they were “still quite coastal”.
“In the rest of the south-east, there’s not too much of note,” Ms Pattie said.
“Just north of Noosa, Double Island Point and Maryborough, there are some storms but they’re small, not too much rainfall coming out of them.
“But we are saturated so even a little bit of rain will cause flash flooding.”
Reporting by Alicia Nally.
By Georgia Hitch
Flood warning for Logan and Albert rivers
A minor flood warning alert's been issued by the BoM for the Logan River and the Albert River.
Between 420-880mm of rain has fallen in the two catchments for the rivers since the weekend.
The Bureau says while river levels are generally easing off, that could change depending on how heavy the forecast showers and thunderstorms are in the next couple of days.
By Georgia Hitch
Severe thunderstorm warning for Queensland east coast
The Bureau of Meteorology has just put out a severe thunderstorm warning for heavy rainfall for areas between Bundaberg and Gladstone on the Queensland coast.
The BoM also says Miriam Vale and Seventeen Seventy may also be affected.
By Georgia Hitch
How do you make a flood insurance claim?
As the floodwaters hopefully continue to recede in most affected regions in NSW and Qld, the focus is turning to the clean-up and stock-take of exactly how much damage they've caused.
If you've found, or think you're going to find, yourself in a situation where you need to make an insurance claim, do you know what to do?
ABC reporter David Chen has stepped through exactly what you need to do here.
By Georgia Hitch
World Science Festival cancelled in Brisbane
The World Science Festival has been cancelled because of the impacts of the floods at the Queensland Museum, Queensland Cultural Centre and across South Bank Parklands.
"And the personal impact to some of our incredible participants and staff, we're not able to to reschedule our main program of in-person events," the festival said.
"We know you share in this disappointment with us."
The good news is they're working to get a virtual program together, you can find the details on it here.
By Georgia Hitch
By Georgia Hitch
Close call for some in Queensland tonight
Yatala Pies owner Heather Gay has been talking to Kelly Higgins-Devine on ABC Radio Brisbane tonight and said the floodwater came up to the edge of their verandah.
But they managed to get their equipment out and perishables on a truck before the floodwater came.
“This flood here blocked the access to the M1,” she said.
“It wasn’t like Debbie – with Debbie it came down and was gone in four hours. This time it stayed around.”
Reporting by Alicia Nally
