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| Situation Update No. 1 Ref.no.: FF-20100207-24826-AUS
Situation Update No. 1
On 2010-02-07 at 12:49:50 [UTC]
Event: Flash Flood
Location: Australia State of Queensland Southern areas
Number of Deads: 1 person(s)
Number of Missing: 13 person(s)
Number of Evacuated: 21 person(s)
Situation: A mother has died and another 20 people needed rescuing after heavy flooding in central Queensland, the Department of Community Safety says. The woman, in her 40s, was found by emergency services on Sunday evening after being swept from Bouldercombe Gorge Resources Reserve at about 3.40pm (AEST). "We believe she was found in some trees," the DCS spokesman said. There is no current information about where she lived or the cause of death. Her four children escaped unharmed. She was one of 21 people caught up in the flooding at the popular picnic and swimming spot after torrential rain and thunderstorms deluged the area. There was early confusion about the number of people missing, partly because of two cars left in the are2a. But all have now been accounted for and emergency services have ended their operation in the area. Four teenagers were among those rescued after being swept away. The DCS spokesman told AAP they managed to reach an area of dry land but were surrounded by water. "A large and sudden storm came through which has dumped a lot of water and they've been caught by surprise by the flow of the water from the storms," the DCS spokesman said earlier in the day. It remains unclear how the others who needed rescuing were helped to safety, the DCS said. "They will all have their own stories to tell about what happened to them," the DCS spokesman added. Police said 10 people were winched to safety, including four children, but their mother had died.
"There's 13 missing people - a sad fact that one of the people lost their life today, a woman," Senior Sergeant John Hamry told ABC Television. "She's been located just down from the falls." Meanwhile, a 14-year-old boy drowned when the car in which he was travelling tried to cross Black Duck Creek at Junction View, south of Toowoomba, on Saturday night. The boy and two other people managed to get out of a car after it was swept off the roadway, but the boy was washed away in the floodwaters. Channel Nine reported the teenager was wheelchair bound and his father had valiantly tried to rescue him. Torrential overnight rain in southeast Queensland caused havoc for emergency services and water police who rescued 20 people and retrieved boats that came loose from their moorings and floated aimlessly down a Gold Coast river. Clagiraba in the Gold Coast hinterland received 415mm of rain (more than 16 inches) in the 24 hours to 9am (AEST) on Sunday. Nearby Canungra received 366mm and Mt Tamborine 372mm. A DCS spokesman said swift water rescue crews were called to a further five incidents in the Gold coast hinterland after cars were stranded in floodwaters. Flooding affected at least 21 roads on the Gold Coast, police said, and drivers were warned not to try to cross flooded roadways. Up to 30 boats broke free from their moorings and were adrift on the Coomera River between Brisbane and the Gold Coast, police said. The State Emergency Services received more than 200 calls for help overnight on Saturday and on Sunday. More than 100 of them were from Gold Coast residents, mainly seeking help with sandbagging and temporary roof repairs. The RSPCA has sent emergency crews to the Gold Coast hinterland following reports of livestock losses and warned farmers to move animals to higher ground. The Bureau of Meteorology issued severe thunderstorm warnings for the Maranoa and Warrego regions in south central Queensland, including the town of Roma which was under flood threat on Friday. Emergency Management Queensland's area director Scott Walsh told AAP the Bungil Creek, which peaked at seven metres on Friday, had dropped two metres and he was confident the area could ride out the latest storm threat. |  | | | |
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