Five people have died after three cars were swept away by floodwaters in south-east Queensland during a torrential downpour.

The car in which a 75-year-old man died.

Severe and dangerous storms lashed the region on Friday, with an east coast low moving slowly into northern NSW overnight.

Caboolture, north of Brisbane, copped the worst of the deadly cells, which dumped 360 millimetres of rain in less than 24 hours.

• Queensland cops a drenching
• Damage bill into the millions
• Sceptics use storm to slam Flannery

Caught in the rain, a 74-year-old man, 39-year-old woman and a five-year-old boy died yesterday afternoon when their car was swept off Beerburrum Road at Caboolture, north of Brisbane.

A second car was swept off the same road at the same time.

A woman races for cover in Brisbane.

Police confirmed this morning that while two people – a 21-year-old woman and a 16-year-old boy – managed to escape, the 49-year-old male driver died.

His body was found at 6am.

In a separate incident, a 75-year-old man died after his car was swept off Morayfield Road in nearby Burpengary about 8.30pm last night.

A woman travelling in the same car survived by clinging to a tree before being saved by a swift water rescue crew.

Queensland Premier Annastacia Palaszczuk offered her condolences to their families in a media briefing on Friday night.

“It is with the utmost sadness and with a heavy heart that I’ve had to advise Queensland of this tragedy,” she said.

The east coast low contracted as it moved south overnight to northern NSW, where several people were rescued in floodwaters.

Street flooded in Carina.

In NSW, the Bureau of Meteorology has forecast damaging winds, heavy rainfall and very heavy surf for the northern rivers, mid north coast and northern tablelands.