Warning of life-threatening flash flooding as rain lashes Queensland's north
Towns are isolated and the Bruce Highway is cut in multiple places as the downpour from an intense low sees records toppled in Queensland's north.
There are localised reports of half-a-metre of rain in parts and forecasters are warning the system is still strengthening.
The weather system is giant, stretching hundreds of kilometres from Townsville south to Hervey Bay.
The Bruce Highway is flooded in various spots.
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Wild weather will continue to hit parts of Queensland in the coming days as a monsoon trough brings dangerous and life-threatening flash flooding to the region. Supplied
The low was still intensifying on Sunday even after dumping hundreds of millimetres of rain overnight, inundating streets and isolating towns up and down the coast.
Forecaster Felim Hanniffy warned of an "escalating and deteriorating situation".
"Obviously when you get sustained multiple days of heavy to locally intense rainfall this is going to bring the risk of life-threatening flash flooding," Hanniffy said
In just a few hours, 280mm of rain was recorded in the Clarke Ranges, between Mackay and Airlie Beach.
The weather system is giant, stretching hundreds of kilometres from Townsville, south to Hervey Bay. Nine
Townsville received 210mm and Hamilton Island broke an 18-year record with the heaviest daily rainfall of 234mm.
Vehicles queued for up to a kilometre on the outskirts of Bowen where the Bruce Highway was flooded.
Drivers abandoned their cars at Merinda, with the Bruce also cut south of Proserpine.
Emergency services across Queensland are grappling with flash flooding with forecasters predicting up to a metre of rain in some parts. QFES
Fire warning in WA
Meanwhile, in a contrast of conditions, a bushfire has threatened in south-west Western Australia, but the warning has now been downgraded.
A watch and act is in place at Donnybrook-Balingup.
Residents can stay across updates here.
A fire burning in south-west WA is threatening lives and homes. DFES
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The fire has already burned more than 5000 hectares of land.
Meanwhile, Victoria experienced one of its hottest days of the years yesterday, with the mercury reaching above 35C.
A fast moving grass fire has destroyed several caravans and at least two homes near Mildura in Victoria.
Melbourne was expecting a short reprieve from the heat today before it heats up again on Wednesday.
Sydney and Brisbane were expecting the heat to climb to 29C today, and 27C in Adelaide.
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