Source : Perth Now news
Thirty-four people have been saved from a bus trapped in floodwaters in central Queensland in one of four major rescues, as a deluge of rain threatens several parts of Australia’s north.
Emergency crews were called to Fingerboard Road and Lowmead Road at Mount Tom in Queensland’s Gladstone region about 6.30am on Saturday.
Using a motorised rescue craft, firefighters began ferrying the bus driver and 33 passengers more than 2km east toward an incident control point at Miriam Vale, with the last evacuations being completed around 12.20pm.
The major operation was one of four rescues in central Queensland as flash flooding sweeps the region, with six others needing to be brought to safety.
Two men, aged 33 and 32, suffered minor injuries after their Holdon Commodore became trapped in floodwaters about 7.55pm on Friday.
Police were soon called to Captain Creek, where a car got bogged while trying to cross a flooded road about 8.15pm.
A 21-year-old woman along with two men, aged 23 and 47, were forced to flee their car as it was consumed in the rising waters; they climbed up a nearby tree before being rescued.
Emergency services also saved a 65-year-old woman who swam to safety while her car was swept away by raging rapids on Round Hill Road in Captain Creek about 12.15am.
A tropical low – known as 29U – hit the northeast Queensland coastline on Friday afternoon, carrying monsoonal rain troughs that are now spreading to southern and inland parts of the state.
Residents in Douglas Shire were told to leave their homes and move to higher ground that afternoon.
Douglas Shire Mayor Lisa Scomazzon told Nine the Daintree River had overflowed, tearing a local ferry from its moorings.
“Our ferry came off its moorings and collided with another boat and pontoon,” she said.
“At the moment we’re waiting for the river to become safe so crews can go in and assess the damage.”
Much of north Queensland remains on high alert on Saturday, with extreme warnings in place for Etheridge Shire, Wujal Wujal Aboriginal Shire, Giru and surrounding communities as of midday.
Bureau of Meteorology senior meteorologist Dean Narramore said parts of the region had been hit with hundreds of millimetres of rain overnight, such as Alligator Flats, which was inundated with 212mm.
“We’ve got a number of flood watches and warnings current for much of the state of Queensland,” Mr Narramore said.
“We have flood watches current for almost the entire coastline from around Cooktown all the way down to Brisbane, and that extends well inland as well.
“All the major flooding warnings are continuing across many of our rivers, including on the Georgina, the Eyre Creek, the Cooper Creek, the Thompson River, and the Flinders River.”
Other heavily hit parts of Queensland overnight include the Upper Don (178mm) and Boundary Creek (183mm).
A heavy downpour of between 50mm and 150mm also pelted the regions between Townsville and Mackay.
Mr Narramore said more widespread heavy rainfall was forecast across the rest of the weekend as tropical low 29U drifts further southeast.
“We are likely to see widespread rain across much of eastern and southeastern Queensland,” he said.
“At this stage we are looking at widespread areas of northern and eastern Queensland getting 50 – 100mm, with a stretch of more 100 – 200mm possible around the low in northern Queensland and The Gulf.”
A second tropical low, 31U, has battered much of the Northen Territory after it blew in from The Gulf of Carpentaria, bringing thunderstorms and rainfalls of 160mm to 180mm.
“That has led to moderate and major flooding across much of the NT,” Mr Narramore said.
“We have a number of flood warnings current, of particular concern is the Katherine river where we are seeing major flooding being experienced in and around the Katherine Gorge.”
Brisbane and Darwin have been placed under flood watch warnings.
Sydney is also bracing for wet weather as thunderstorms are forecast to light up the sky starting in the early afternoon.
Similar conditions are expected in Canberra from about midday.
