A man in his early 20s is "lucky to be alive" after police and firies rescued him from a flooded causeway in Mount Isa overnight.
Key points:
- The weather bureau is warning life-threatening flash flooding is possible in the south-east and on the coast
- Townsville is set to receive five times its average May rainfall totals
- Premier Annastacia Palaszczuk says Longreach could see 10 times its average May rainfall
Parts of central and inland Queensland are set for a drenching today as an extreme weather system sweeps across the state, the Bureau of Meteorology (BOM) says.
The man entered the flooded Alma Street causeway at 11pm last night, and was swept 500 metres downstream of the Leichhardt River, clinging to reeds along the river for 30 minutes.
He was conscious and breathing when rescued but was unable to walk due to exhaustion.
He was taken to Mount Isa Hospital in a stable condition with hypothermia.
Authorities are urging people in western Queensland to take extra precautions with heavy rain continuing today.
Senior meteorologist Laura Boekel said the most intense falls would be in Queensland's central-west region, including Longreach and Barcaldine, with thunderstorms likely to be added to the mix.
"When we're looking at the central-west, the totals [expected] are up to around 100 millimetres in general," Ms Boekel said.
"But we are expecting to see thunderstorms embedded within that rain band.
"That means while we could see that steady, constant, widespread rain, we could also see isolated totals of quite high amounts."
Ms Boekel said those high amounts could reach 150 millimetres of rain in isolated parts of central-western Queensland.
She said the severe weather had been triggered by a moist, tropical air mass extending down from the state's north.
"The air from the tropics is really moist … and that's being pushed down across really large parts of Queensland, all the way down to the south-east corner," she said.
'Five times your May average' for Townsville
Ms Boekel said the rainfall would become more widespread and move further north to Townsville from Wednesday.
"As the week moves on, we are expecting to see that rainfall move towards the coast, to areas of Townsville and … south of Cairns, that's where we can expect to see the heavier rainfall," Ms Boekel said.
"Generally, the range [predicted] for Townsville is 150 to 200mm, noting that could be higher if we do see different phenomena.
"We typically see around 30mm of rain in Townsville [in May] and we're predicting at least 150mm."
The weather bureau said the system will continue to move further south from Thursday, with the Sunshine Coast becoming a key area of concern.
Life-threatening flash flooding possible
Ms Boekel said local, intense rainfall this week could see life-threatening flash and riverine flooding.
A flood watch is current for several already-saturated catchments across the state.
"Especially in the south-east and along parts of the coast, we've already seen quite a lot of rain, so it doesn't take a lot of rainfall for catchments to respond really quickly," Ms Boekel said.
"That's when we can see flash flooding and those situations that become more life-threatening."
Queensland Premier Annastacia Palaszczuk said authorities were keeping a close eye on the flood risk.
"We've been advised by the Bureau of Meteorology that towns such as Longreach could experience five to 10 times their normal May rainfall so it is a serious weather event and we're urging people to absolutely take care out there," Ms Palaszczuk said.
"We do expect most of the heavy rainfall to be out west and far north of our state … but flash flooding can occur at any time, so if it's flooded forget it, and please be safe out on the roads.
"If you don't need to be on the roads, don't be out on the roads when it's flooding."
Low-flow releases from Somerset Dam into Wivenhoe Dam are planned for the next two days to manage water levels.
Posted , updated
https://news.google.com/__i/rss/rd/articles/CBMiaGh0dHBzOi8vd3d3LmFiYy5uZXQuYXUvbmV3cy8yMDIyLTA1LTEwL3FsZC13ZWF0aGVyLXN0b3Jtcy1oZWF2eS1yYWluLWZvcmVjYXN0LW5vcnRoLXF1ZWVuc2xhbmQvMTAxMDQ5MzYy0gEA?oc=5
2022-05-09 20:05:07Z
1414407004
Bagikan Berita Ini
0 Response to "Queensland braces for severe weather as storms, flash flooding and record-breaking rain set to hit parts of state - ABC News"
Post a Comment