Driver pulled from sinking car by his hair as flood warnings sweep south east Queensland

A motorist is lucky to be alive after a swift water rescue crew pulled him from his completely submerged car by his hair during a dramatic flood rescue near Noosa.

Emergency services were called to Doonan just before 7pm on Friday following reports a 24-year-old man in a Mazda CX-30 had been swept away by fast-flowing floodwaters.

The driver managed to dial Triple Zero, but by the time rescue teams arrived, the vehicle was completely submerged, 1.5 metres under water.

Officer Ben Walker from the Queensland Fire Department told Today the car was “completely submerged” as emergency services reached the vehicle.

“He’d basically taken his last breath,” Walker said.

“[A rescuer] was able to grab the passenger by the hair and pull him out,” Walker said.

“Was definitely a close call.”

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Record-breaking Queensland deluge moves south, putting NSW in firing line

In a separate incident west of Brisbane, Queensland Police released footage of a search for a vehicle swept away in Laidley.

Crews initially couldn’t locate the car under the floodwaters, but found a man in his 40s alive in the water an hour later.

With heavy rain and flood warnings active across South East Queensland, police are reiterating their strict warning for motorists to stay clear of flooded roads.

They warn that drivers who enter floodwaters can face fines of up to $800.

On Friday, there were reports that the SES received more than 200 calls across Queensland due to dangerous conditions that ravaged the state’s south-east.

While conditions eased over the day, the storm dumped upwards of 300 millimetres of rain across parts of the region, more than three times the amount originally forecast by the Bureau of Meteorology.

With the wet weather is expected to persist over the weekend, flood warnings remain active for parts of the region including Warrill Creek at Harrisville, Amberley, Rosewood, and localised catchments around Moreton Bay.