South-east Queensland has been smashed by 300mm of rain in just three hours overnight, with warnings from the Bureau of Meteorology (BOM) that there is still up to 200mm of rain to come.
Senior BOM meteorologist Angus Hines said north-west of Brisbane was hit hardest, in particular Samford Valley, which had 344mm of rain.
That contributed to areas of flash flooding – 13 swiftwater rescues have been carried out in the Moreton Bay Somerset, Lockyer Valley and Darling Downs regions, with waist-deep water inundating properties.
Multiple councils in the area have issued warnings and advised against travel unless absolutely necessary.
“We’ll often find storm activity does ramp up a little bit when we get to the warmest hours of the day, so even if it does ease after the course of this morning by the time we roll into this afternoon we certainly see that risk once again of thunderstorms and the possibility of those severe thunderstorms bringing [more] locally heavy or locally intense rainfall,” Hines added.
“We could see quite a lot more rainfall, another 50 to 100mm, the chance of some more thunderstorms bringing local pockets again 100 to 200 millimetres of rain.
“It’s been a very wet night for some places and it’s still a wet day here for others.”
Heavy rainfall, which may lead to flash flooding, is forecast to continue across much of south-east Queensland, with thunderstorms expected for Moreton Bay, Somerset and Sunshine Coast Council Areas.
“If conditions are dangerous in your area, avoid unnecessary travel and stay inside until the storm has passed,” said Queensland Fire and Emergency Services.
Areas north of about Tara, Oakey and Redcliffe, and east of Tara, Gayndah to Bundaberg have all been issued warnings for heavy rainfall and flash flooding.
“The biggest concern is the whole of south-east Queensland is absolutely saturated, so when we get these quick, intense rainfall events, the water rises very quickly and people can become caught unaware,” said BOM senior forecaster Steve Hadley.
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