Heavy rain triggers flood warning

Published 7:39am 23 February 2022

UPDATE 2pm:

The Bureau of Meteorology has this afternoon issued a second Flood Watch warning for parts of South East Queensland including the Moreton Bay Region.

It says a surface trough near the southeast coast will remain slow-moving through Thursday and Friday, producing areas of heavy to intense rainfall and thunderstorms over South East Queensland.

A second slow-moving trough further inland will bring widespread shower and thunderstorm activity across the southern inland during the next few days.

Catchments are wet, and likely to respond quickly to further rainfall in the form of flash flooding. The bureau says the Pine and Caboolture Rivers are most likely to be affected but smaller waterways are also at risk.

Many roads across the Moreton Bay Region are already closed, including Young’s Crossing due to releases from North Pine Dam which are expected to continue in the coming days. Motorists are advised to avoid the area.

Scroll down for road closures

Sandbag stations are open across the region to residents who live in areas prone to flash flooding, with free sandbags available.

Residents are asked to bring their own shovels, as they will need to fill their own sandbags.

Sandbags can reduce the impact of flooding if they’re placed correctly in appropriate locations around property. However, they will not stop the water completely, so residents are encouraged to raise their valuables off the floor to prevent damage from floodwater.

For details, visit mbrc.link/sandbags

UPDATE 10am:

Moreton Bay Regional Council has ‘stood up’ its libraries as Places of Refuge for residents needing support as a result of flooding and heavy rain expected in the next 48 hours.

This means that if a person presents at a library saying they need assistance, library staff will support them. This simply means:

Providing Library Place of Refuge Kits
Providing people with a space to sit and be dry and warm
Providing access to communication to assist them with contacting appropriate support services, family/friends
And providing a warm drink and chat if they need it.

Council provides Libraries as Places of Refuge during business hours. Council is working on having transport available to move any people from libraries to evacuation centres for overnight and longer term accommodation. Evacuation Centres are currently being set up.

Due to water ingress, Burpengary Library is closed today, so Council is looking at other options for this area.

The move comes after the Bureau of Meteorology issued an ‘initial flood watch’ for parts of South East Queensland including the Moreton Bay Region. It follows a night of heavy rain with more to come in the next 48 hours.

It is the result of a coastal trough which has developed along the southern Queensland coast and an approaching upper trough.

The bureau says catchments, already saturated from heavy rain in recent weeks, are ‘likely to respond quickly to further rainfall’.

Catchments likely to be affected include the Pine and Caboolture Rivers.

Heavy rain, which may lead to flash flooding, is expected to redevelop later today and continue through Thursday over areas between Double Island Point, Toowoomba and the Main Range National Park. Six-hourly rainfall totals between 100 and 200mm are likely.

Locally intense rainfall leading to dangerous and life-threatening flash flooding is possible during this period with six-hourly rainfall totals up to 300mm.

The flood watch warning calls for people living or working along rivers and creeks to monitor weather forecasts and warnings.