Flood victims cling to trees to survive Queensland floods
Flood water inundate a road in Dalby, Queensland. Photo: AAP
Queensland police have rescued a man and woman clutching a tree for safety after they were swept away while attempting to ride floodwaters on a blow-up mattress.
The pair had drifted away from their campsite at Morayfield, north of Brisbane, after torrential rain bucketed down on south-east Queensland on Monday and caused flash flooding.
It appears they weren’t the only people holding on for dear life as New South Wales also experienced severe rain downpours and flooding issues.
On Tuesday morning, SES crews rescued a man who spent almost 12 hours clinging to a tree to escape floodwaters surging down the Bega River.
SES spokeswoman Sharon Fox said the man was lucky to be alive after rescue crews spotted him at about 4am on Tuesday before helping him down and into an ambulance to be taken to South East Regional Hospital.
“Certainly it’s a fantastic result and a big thanks to our volunteers,” she told ABC radio.
And now we have a waterhole! #NSWFloods #mogozoo pic.twitter.com/VKvOHOIgc2
— mogowildlife (@mogowildlife) February 10, 2020
Bega Valley Shire Council warned of the continued flood risk on Tuesday.
Conditions in the Bega, Brogo, Bemboka and Towamba rivers and all surrounding creeks and waterways are dangerous this morning,” the council posted to their Facebook page.
“Significant volumes of water and strong flows are still being experienced in some locations.”
The rain brought some much-needed relief for firefighters who are today battling to contain four blazes burning in addition to the 26 bush and grass fires in NSW.
Rain has significantly assisted reducing the fire activity across areas of NSW. It is a welcome relief for communities and firefighters alike. 26 bush and grass fires are still burning across the state with 4 not yet contained (Snowy Valley and Monaro areas). #nswrfs #nswfires pic.twitter.com/w3aUaPsuZw
— NSW RFS (@NSWRFS) February 10, 2020
Lost and found in Queensland
A man feared missing in floodwaters northwest of Brisbane has been located safe and well.
Police launched an appeal for information after receiving a report someone had been seen pushing a car in floodwaters on the Burnett Highway near Stockyard Creek at 8pm on Monday.
The car was later found abandoned.
However, police on Tuesday said the man in question had made contact with them.
Initial reports a woman was also missing with him were incorrect.
A third couple were rushed to Caboolture hospital after they became trapped in floodwaters at Morayfield north of Brisbane at about 11.30pm on Monday.
Earlier that night, emergency services carried a man in his 70s out of the rising waters on Kingsthorpe Road.
Then, at 1.16am on Tuesday, a car became stuck in flooding but the teenage driver managed to escape his vehicle unscathed.
The Bureau of Meteorology’s Matt Bass said Gregor Creek in the upper Brisbane Valley recorded 102 millimetres in one hour. That area also copped the heaviest rainfall on Monday.
“[There was] extreme sort of rainfall through there and that has resulted in some minor to moderate flooding in the upper reaches of the Brisbane River above Wivenhoe Dam,” he told the ABC.
“Now of course that will just flow into the dam and will not cause any issues further down.
“Yeah, 100 millimetres in an hour is very intense sort of rainfall we don’t see too frequently so in that particular area where that rainfall fell I’m sure there was significant river rises and flash flooding for sure.”
