The body of a woman has been found in a submerged car and ten people are missing after a torrential downpour hit south-east Queensland and parts of New South Wales, with the wet weather expected to continue into next week.
The body of the 63-year-old was found in the vehicle near Skyring Creek at Belli Park, west of Eumundi on the Sunshine Coast, just after 8am on Wednesday.
“This is indeed a tragedy during this particular time,” premier Annastacia Palaszczuk told parliament.
Emergency services received a report of a submerged car about 4.45am and were at first unable to get to the vehicle due to rising floodwaters.
The woman was the only person in the Honda CRV.
Sunshine Coast police district superintendent Craig Hawkins said another 10 people were unaccounted for in the Noosa Hinterland area.
“We are searching for some people at the moment, particularly again around that Belli Park area,” he said.
“We’re hopeful that it’ll be a good outcome, but certainly we are searching for some people that are outstanding.”
Some 23 rescues were conducted by Swiftwater rescue teams in the Sunshine Coast and Gympie regions following 12 hours of intense rainfall.
The storms were expected to linger in Queensland and NSW throughout the week, causing dangerous flash flooding and record rainfalls.
Weatherzone meteorologist Ben Domensino said the stormy weather pattern hitting large parts of eastern Australia could see several hundred millimetres of rain in the coming days.
The new Powerhouse site in Parramatta was flooded on Tuesday, as Sydney saw the wettest weather since March last year with totals exceeding 100mm.
The site for the new Powerhouse Museum at Parramatta is inundated as the river swells. You can't rule out those behind the idea now seeing the potential for another aquarium. @7NewsSydney @7NewsAustralia pic.twitter.com/tr5FBXzc6O
— Evan Batten (@ebatten7) February 22, 2022
NSW emergency services minister Steph Cooke said on Wednesday that the SES received 1323 calls in 24 hours with 40 children being evacuated from a childcare centre in Marrickville, in Sydney’s inner west.
She said the majority of requests concerned leaking roofs, flash flooding on roads and debris.
Parts of the northern rivers are expected to see 100mm of rain over the coming four days.
Flood warnings have been issued for Tweed, Brunswick, Wilsons, Richmond, Orara, Bellinger and Nambucca Rivers.
BOM’s radar showed heavy falls with thunderstorms leaving many Sydney suburbs recording more than 100mm of rain on Tuesday.
Many roads are flooded and ferry services have been cancelled between Parramatta and Sydney Olympic Park on Wednesday due to flooding and debris on the swollen Parramatta River.
Swamped. Marrickville. pic.twitter.com/J1ODMZYpgm
— Peter Lalor (@plalor) February 22, 2022
In Queensland, the BoM said some parts of the south-east could see up to a metre of rainfall in the coming days, with residents urged to be on alert for flooding.
At least a dozen drivers had been rescued after their cars became submerged in the Gympie and Sunshine Coast regions, while a train had been derailed at Taveston north-east of Noosa amid the deluge on Wednesday.
“Scary” that’s how the Bureau of Meteorology described the amount of rain that fell in Gympie overnight. 300 millimeters in six hours. 390 millimeters at Mt Wolvi was the highest total. There are concerns about how much rain will fall over the next 24 hours @BreakfastNews pic.twitter.com/xGDY4SwC24
— Michael Rennie (@mf_rennie) February 22, 2022
The Queensland Fire and Emergency Service sent emergency alerts to residents in the Gympie, Noosa and Sunshine Coast local government areas warning of flash flooding impacting roads and bridges.
Domensino said the heavy rain hitting south-east Queensland was notable even for this time of year.
“We’ve already had some rainfall totals in last 24 hours of more than 400mm near Gympie,” he said.
“Brisbane has forecast ranges of 100mm today, again on Thursday then another 40 to 80mm possible on Friday. To put that in perspective, Brisbane’s average rainfall in February is around 158mm.
“We could be looking at more than a month’s rain falling in the next three days.”
Domensino said the unusually heavy rainfall was being caused by a deep layer of moisture feeding into a low-pressure trough, which would linger until the weekend.
He said south-east Queensland from the Sunshine Coast down to the NSW border would likely see the heaviest rain on Wednesday.
“Between now and Saturday we’ll see heavy rain in Queensland and parts of north-east NSW, we could easily see more than 100 and 200mm,” he said.
“Given we’ve already got major flooding in some creeks and rivers in south-east Queensland we are likely to see flooding there and possibly in parts of north-east NSW during the next three to four days.”
Domensino said the weather was typical for what was expected during La Niña, which was being fuelled by the moisture-laden air.
“Even as La Niña weakens it still has an influence on Australia’s weather,” he said.
“This type of rain event – once catchments are saturated – can cause creeks and rivers to rise rapidly.
“People in the regions know what type of flooding can occur, but we could see a rapid onset of major flooding in creeks almost empty to start with.”
The BoM had issued a general flood warning for the entire south-east, as well as a generalised flood alert for Brisbane, the Gold Coast, Ipswich, Toowoomba and the Darling Downs.
The worst-hit areas had been the south-east coast and the Wide Bay-Burnett region, including the Mary River where major floods earlier this year killed three people and damaged dozens of homes and businesses.
“River level rises are likely to follow periods of heavy rainfall, however, the timing and areas for initial flood impacts are uncertain across the flood watch area,” the BoM said.
Meanwhile, the Burnett, Burrum and Cherwell, Mary, Noosa, Pine, Caboolture, Brisbane, Logan and Albert, Condamine rivers were set to break their banks, as well as rivers and creeks on the Gold and Sunshine Coasts.
Five dams were already spilling, including the Leslie Harrison, Lake Macdonald (Six Mile Creek), Poona, Ewen Maddock and Cooloolabin dams.
