Name: Flooding in the wake of ex-tropical Cyclone Alfred
Uploaded: 2025-03-09T06:56:30.083Z
Duration: 2 min 54 s
Description: Severe flooding caused by heavy rain has inundated Hervey Bay and the Gold Coast areas, submerging cars, disrupting power, and isolating parts of the community. Authorities are warning the rain will continue, with flood warnings now in place.

Severe flooding caused by heavy rain has inundated Hervey Bay and the Gold Coast areas, submerging cars, disrupting power, and isolating parts of the community. Authorities are warning the rain will continue, with flood warnings now in place.

Brisbane

Recent heavy rainfall in the region has transformed Hervey Bay into a scene of extreme flooding, with waters reaching up to a metre deep. Cars and a bus at a local shopping centre were submerged under the fast-flowing water. Located 160 kilometres north of the former eye of ex-tropical cyclone Alfred, the community found itself unexpectedly swamped, leading to a mid-morning emergency declaration and advisories for residents to take shelter. Currently, it is deemed too dangerous to deploy emergency crews as high winds could cause road closure signs to blow away.

The situation has been exacerbated by severe storms that began at dawn and pummeled the town for several hours. While kangaroos were spotted trying to escape the rising waters, a car was seen floating down a street due to the strong currents. South of Hervey Bay, the Gold Coast area has also experienced heavy rain, contributing to increased water levels. The Springbrook area, in particular, is nearing a total rainfall of one metre over the past four days, while the catchment at Hinze Dam now surpasses 120% capacity. Various rivers, such as one near Oxenford by Movie World, are in full flood, leading to roads being submerged or cut off.

Many residents have experienced power outages for several days, and some have been forced to leave their homes to stay with family or friends. In Mudgreeraba, the floodwaters are deep, inundating sports fields and limiting accessibility in many locations. Local schools have not been spared, as the floods have affected school grounds. Surfers Paradise has also suffered significant erosion, with anticipated corrective work including bringing machinery to stabilize the eroded areas. However, immediate focus remains on more pressing issues, such as power lines that have fallen and caught fire in Coolangatta.



Flooding in the wake of ex-tropical Cyclone Alfred

Our park becomes a river, a metre deep torrent of fast-flowing water surging over cars and a bus at a shopping centre. Harvey Bay, the gateway to Garry and the Fraser coast, swamped. It's 160 kilometres north of the fading eye of ex-tropical cyclone Alfred and there was no warning this was coming. An emergency declaration was made mid-morning. Residents told to take shelter. Too dangerous to send crews out right now and if we put road closure signs up they will in fact blow away. Severe storms started at dawn and thrashed the bayside town for hours. Kangaroos spotted on the hop, keeping ahead of the rising tide, a rising threat which claimed a car seen here floating down a street. So much water rushing across driveways, bursting through gardens, a dark, dangerous flood. The system has pummeled the Gold Coast with more rain than anywhere else. The four day total at Springbrook now closing in on a metre. The catchment at Hinns Dam rising past 120%. Many rivers like this one at Oxenford near Movie World are raging. That torrent is why just on the other side of the M1 motorway cars have sunk in a creek. Five were caught in the water here before being towed free. Roads are cut across the city. Fast flowing water is rushing through Binogan. The flood water is deep in Mudgerabah. It's going across sports fields and cutting access in a growing number of locations. It's a little bit wet. I've never seen a lot of this. Some residents have been without power for three days. Others are abandoning their homes to stay with friends and family. I'm sleeping on my brother's couch. I'm sleeping in a room with a dog, a cat and my sister's toddlers which come in. So it's good. It's just really eye-opening, especially when you're stuck inside the house all the time and you actually come outside and you're like, what people see on Facebook and everything is actually real. There's flooding through the grounds of some schools. While the erosion at Surfers Paradise has to be seen to be believed, machinery will be brought in to shore up or cut down the cliffs. But it won't happen for some time because there are much bigger problems like fallen, burning power lines this afternoon at Koolangatta.

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