Queensland flood: dozens rescued, thousands trapped

Hi mates,

diese Woche war es nichts mit Sunshine im Sunshine State -
s. nachfolgenden Bericht aus news.com.au:

DOZENS of people have been rescued from homes and cars, and more are poised to evacuate their homes as flash-flooding caused by a one-in-100-year deluge sweeps across southeast Queensland.

More than 300mm of rain and high winds have lashed the Sunshine Coast and Wide Bay regions since yesterday caused by an unusual low pressure system over the state's southeast.

The weather has caused havoc across the region with authorities reporting more than 100 calls for help, dozens rescued from flooded cars and homes, at least 12 homes damaged by fallen trees, roads blocked and thousands without power.

At Gympie, north of Brisbane, 8000 people camping at the Gympie Muster event are stranded with roads to and from the area closed.

Most damage has been caused by fallen trees which had been weakened by the prolonged drought and flooding in the still-rising Mary Valley catchment - where the controversial Traveston Crossing Dam is planned.

Noosa Shire Council reported the Noosa River had broken its banks at Tewantin, and warned residents in low-lying areas to consider evacuating homes ahead of possible flooding tonight.

The high tide due at 6.55pm (AEST) is expected to create further problems.

At Pumicestone Passage, north of Brisbane, torrential rain caused a sewerage pipe to burst.

Deputy Premier Anna Bligh this afternoon chaired a meeting of the state's Emergency Management Committee.

"The Gympie region has a long history of devastating flooding and I want to ensure all government agencies are well-prepared," Ms Bligh said.

She urged people to stay home rather than risk crossing dangerous flood waters.

Rain was expected to ease off considerably overnight but the full extent of the flooding would be known tomorrow as river flows reached communities, she said.

Senior forecaster Jeff Callaghan said the current low pressure system over south-east Queensland was a freak event, not seen since the 1800s.

Such events usually occurred in late autumn or early winter, he said.

"They are very rare in August and the last one we can find was probably in the 1880s," Mr Callaghan told ABC radio.

"We know they happen now but we haven't in the past had any of these events in August or September."

The low has set a new rainfall record at Rainbow Beach, near Gympie, where 713mm had fallen in the 24 hours to 9am (AEST) today.

Weather bureau climate records meteorologist Claire Webb said the "amazing" rainfall was more than three times the previous total of 216mm for the whole month of August set in 1998.

And at Tewantin, near Noosa, 310mm fell to 9am today - more than four times the previous record daily total of 72.2mm set on August 19, 1989.

Rob Drury, operations manager for SEQ Water which manages the region's dwindling dams, said 27mm fell at Wivenhoe, 36mm at North Pine dam and more than 100mm fell in the Stanley River, which flows into Somerset dam.

The combined dam levels of Somerset, Wivenhoe and North Pine was this evening at 17.54 per cent, an increase of 0.77 per cent.

But inflows were expected to continue into the middle of next week, adding up to another month's supply.

Queensland Water Commission chief John Bradley today announced the rain would postpone level six water restrictions - which could have been in place as early as next month - until late November or early December.

But Mr Bradley said the region's water crisis was not over, urging residents to continue to conserve water.

Gruss Susanne

Hi Mirjam,

stimmt, was Du sagst.

Olhari mit Familie hat hier gerade noch den Start dieser Wettereskapaden mitbekommen (ist inzwischen wieder in Deutschland), aber Wombat1996 befindet sich in diesen Tagen auf dem Weg zu ihrer Freundin nach Gympie.
Ich hoffe, die beiden können ihr Wiedersehen trotzdem genießen.

Gruss Susanne

Hi mates,

genau, der Regen jetzt Ende August war schon sehr außergewöhnlich und damit etwas Besonderes.

Und heute ist Sonnabend, und es regnet noch immer vor sich hin. Stimmt, unsere Tanks sind jetzt voll, den Pool haben wir mindestens 3 x vor dem Überlaufen retten müssen ... die Waterrestriction 6 kann zunächst von September auf November/Dezember verschoben werden (es sei denn, es regnet bis dahin nochmals kräftig).

Zur Info: die Staudämme für Brisbane (und uns, auch für Oceanaussi) kommen auch jetzt nur auf einen Füllstand von 17,4% - zum Vergleich: als wir im Oktober 2006 hergekommen sind, warens 23,5%: da wurde Water restriction 3 auf 4 erhöht und im April von 4 auf 5).

@Anita: nein, am schlimmsten hat's wohl in diesem Fall Noosa und Tewantin getroffen: der River ist voll, übervoll. Dort sind innerhalb von 24 Stunden (von Do auf Fr, meine ich) rund 600 ml/qm runtergekommen - bei uns "nur" 100).

Gruss Susanne

Ach ... heute haben wir wieder die Sonne gesehen! Wunderbar!

Das Problem bei Noosa ist der River dort .... aber auch hier unsere Seen und Creeks sind ganz schön voll!

Gruss Susanne

Hi mates,

hier der aktuelle Stand - aus news.com.au:

LAST week's rain is expected to provide about four months drinking water to southeast Queensland, but will not lead to any reduction in water restrictions.

Another high tide yesterday brought more flooding across low-lying areas of the Sunshine Coast last night, but the worst was over and while roads had been cut and some houses swamped over the weekend, the floods were considered "minor".

Floodwaters peaked late on Saturday night at 1.7m on the Noosa River, with minor to moderate flooding also continuing yesterday in the Mary River downstream from Gympie – where a 12.97m peak was recorded at noon the same day.

The flood peak was expected to arrive at Maryborough last night although hydrologists said it would remain at minor levels.

As a major clean-up continued, authorities appealed to drivers to obey road-closed signs and keep out of flooded areas.

The David Low Way at Sunrise Beach will remain closed for a few weeks after part of it collapsed on Saturday.

It seems, though, that the overwhelming news of the rare winter rain event was good.

Inflow yesterday boosted Somerset Dam to 35.22 per cent and the storage is expected to reach 37 per cent within the next few days – the first time it has been at such levels since April last year.

And despite the combined levels of Brisbane's dams expected to nudge back above the 20 per cent trigger point for level 5 water restrictions, Queensland Water Commission chairwoman Elizabeth Nosworthy said she could not afford any let-off.

"These are not drought-breaking rains and I urge residents to keep up the vital water savings," Ms Nosworthy said.

Premier Peter Beattie said planning for level 6 restrictions – due to be triggered when the combined levels reached 15 per cent – would continue.

SEQWater operations manager Rob Drury said the rain had boosted the combined levels of Brisbane's main three dams – Somerset, Wivenhoe and North Pine – by a total of 3 per cent.

"If this rain had gone further inland, it really would have been something," Mr Drury said.

"This is one of the best flows since 2004. It's a bonus."

During last week's wet weather, average daily water use dropped to a surprising 123 litres a day per person, falling below 130 litres for the first time. For the preceding two weeks, the average had been 133 litres per person.

Ms Nosworthy said: "It is likely the reduced consumption also reflects the fact there are a small minority out there still breaking the rules and hosing in breach of level 5 water restrictions."

But with Brisbane having received an average 82.8mm of rain last week, there would be no need for outside watering for weeks.

Scattered showers continued over the southeast yesterday, including Natural Bridge 46mm, Maryborough 26mm and Southport 20mm.

Brisbane is expected to be mostly fine today, with the odd shower. Fine weather is expected through the week.

PS: hier scheint seit gestern wieder die Sonne!

Gruss Susanne