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Nearly 250mm of rain drenched parts of Australia’s east coast in just a few hours overnight, as a wild superstorm wreaks havoc on millions of people, leading to flash flooding and evacuations.
Northern NSW and South East Queensland were on the receiving end of the ferocious weather, with several warnings of flooding and severe weather.
Upper Springbrook, in the Gold Coast, received 222mm of rain in just three hours before midnight, as did the Couchy Creek Nature Reserve in NSW’s Northern Rivers.
The Bureau of Meteorology issued a severe thunderstorm warning for the Gold Coast Friday morning.
Northern NSW and South East Queensland were on the receiving end of the ferocious weather, with several flood and severe weather warnings
Nearly 250mm of rain-soaked parts of Australia’s east coast in just a few hours overnight, as a wild superstorm damages millions, causing flash flooding and evacuations
Residents of Coolangatta, Miami and Tweed Heads will be hit by heavy rainfall and damaging winds, according to the weather forecast.
The BoM has warned that severe thunderstorms could lead to flash flooding in the Gold Coast, Coolangatta and Springbrook.
Landslides have reportedly been observed along Pine Creek Road in Springbrook, leading to several road closures.
Those camping at the Big 4 site in Helensvale, on the Gold Coast, had to flee their tents on Thursday evening when they were suddenly flooded
Those camping at the Big 4 site in Helensvale, on the Gold Coast, had to flee their tents on Thursday evening when they were suddenly submerged.
Footage from the site on Friday morning shows that the entire campsite is under water, with what appears to be children’s bicycles underwater.
Meanwhile, those in the northern rivers have also been warned of severe thunderstorms and more heavy rainfall, with towns in the area still recovering from two major floods this year.
“Heavy rains that could lead to flash flooding are expected to continue in the distant Northern Rivers district, easing in the morning and clearing in the afternoon,” the BoD said.
Lismore, Tweed Heads, Murwillumbah, Byron Bay, Ballina and Casino are all in the firing line.
A severe weather warning initially issued for the mid-north coast of NSW has been cancelled.
On Thursday, a car floats in water on the outskirts of Warren in central NSW
Photos of the rescue of a four-year-old boy and two women, 51 and 44, after their vehicle flooded near Dungog on Thursday
The appalling conditions resulting from a low pressure system will ruin the plans of many families looking to get away for the school holidays starting this weekend in NSW.
NSW Emergency Services Minister Steph Cooke warned Thursday that it was the start of a “very long season” for flooding.
“We face challenges on multiple fronts with prolonged flooding through western and northwestern NSW, renewed river uprisings in the central west and southern parts of NSW,” she said.
“Now communities in the Northern Rivers, Mid North Coast and North Coast, which have become flood-tired in recent months, are facing a few uncertain days with deteriorating weather conditions.
“We are at the start of a very long season that we expect, this is the third consecutive La Nina, and as we have seen all year, our watersheds and landscapes are highly saturated.
“This increases the risk of flash flooding and water that rises very quickly and overwhelms people.”
Heavy rainfall is expected to abate on the east coast Friday evening, the BoM said.
It comes after a four-year-old boy and two women were rescued by a police officer using only a rope and winch after their vehicle was submerged in flooding in the NSW Hunter region.
Authorities were told three people became trapped in a vehicle at 9:30 a.m. Thursday on a flooded road on Lyons Road in Bingleburra, west of the rural town of Dungog.
A senior officer soon arrived at the scene, where he saw a black SUV stranded in the swirling stream, which was about five meters wide.
“Using a rope as a safety line, (the officer) entered the floodwaters and made his way to the vehicle,” the NSW Police Department said in a statement.
He and a 51-year-old woman with the SUV teamed up to pull a four-year-old boy through the window to safe ground.
The officer then waded back into the water to free the 51-year-old, whose foot got stuck on a rock.
After attaching a winch to the SUV to stabilize it, he went back into the water to help a 44-year-old woman who was trapped in the vehicle.
She and the young boy were physically unharmed and were treated for shock by paramedics.
The officer is eligible for an award for bravery, police said.
Floods affect multiple parts of NSW, as a dangerous weather system hitting inland parts of the state, east to the coast.
Flood warnings are in effect in the Northern Rivers, Mid North Coast and Hunter regions where the rescue took place.
Police have urged the public not to drive through floodwaters and avoid non-essential travel.