PHOTO: Dani Avery
PHOTO: Naomi Hansen
PHOTO: Dani Avery
PHOTO: Alex Bailey
Here's some photographs taken by locals around 1pm yesterday afternoon as downtown Toowoomba turning into a violent river system, the likes it had not seen in living memory, taking the lives of at least four people.
Chalk street collected up to 50 cars and demolishing them within minutes. ABC News captured some dramatic video of the flash flooding that engulfed the town West of Brisbane when water levels rose within 40 minutes, shocking and surprising locals.
The severe and sudden weather event struck that struck Toowoomba around 1pm yesterday, was a result of the intense storm cells depositing large volumes of water over a short period of time. Two adults and two children were found killed from the flooding surge, and at least another six people are missing. The East Creek flooded causing fast flowing and rapidly rising waters into the Toowoomba Central Business District, especially Kitchen and Chalk streets.
Queensland Premier has requested the Defence Force to take control of Toowoomba.
Late last evening Police said that a woman and a boy were swept away from a car in the Toowoomba CBD.
"Although the waters are receding quickly in Toowoomba police and emergency services urge all residents remain patient and to wait for the waters to subside and not be tempted to enter into them for any reason," POlice said. "Further to these tragedies, a man and male child were also found deceased in the nearby area of Murphy Creek and one man is unaccounted for in Grantham."
Police are also searching the Withcott area for a number of people reported missing. Chinchilla is expected to be significantly impacted and evacuations are underway in low lying areas. Evacuations have also commenced in Dalby and Condamine.
The Toowoomba Range is shut in both directions due to a number of landslides along the stretch, it is unsure when this will be reopened. The New England Highway is also closed in both directions at Mt Kynoch.
Brisbane City Council last night issued a list of suburbs expected to be affected by flooding today, as the water moves towards the coast. The council's have identified 7,731 properties that may possibly see some flooding, depending on the severity.
LINKS:
- Toowoomba & Darling Downs flood photos on Facebook
- ABC Southern Queensland on Facebook
- Queensland Police on Facebook
- Dramatic video of the flash flooding - ABC News
- ABC Live Streaming
- Call Toowoomba area flood hotline 1300 993 191
- BOM Weather Rain Radar
1 comment:
The floods remind me so much of the massive flooding all over the State in 1974.
All of Caravonica, Kamarunga, Lake Placid, half of Smithfield etc were under water....a massive inland lake, when the Barron River burst its banks. Poor old Machans Beach was completely isolated, surrounded by sea
Where I am living in Westcourt was also under a lake of water...people were rowing boats down English and McCormack Streets
I was wading in hip deep water of an afternoon, posting the office mail at the APO in Lake Street
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