Several rescued from floodwaters as severe thunderstorms, flash floods hit Queensland

Schools and roads have been shut across south-east Queensland severe storms persist, resulting in what is expected to be a months’ rainfall in a matter of days.

South-east Queensland was hit by 170 millimetres of rain on Thursday morning, which caused flash flooding conditions and saw several people rescued from cars north of Brisbane.

One severe storm has moved from the Sunshine Coast towards Ipswich, while another has hit the Southern Downs region east of Warwick.

Caboolture was hit by 109 millimetres of rain in just two hours on Thursday morning.

Residents have shared videos on social media of roads being inundated with water and some examples of flash flooding after the massive rainfall.

Brisbane has been hit with about 55mm of rain between midnight and 2.30pm AEDT, while Ipswich has seen about 61.4mm in the same time period.

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Several schools have been closed, while at least 60 roads have been closed due to floodwaters as nearby creeks struggle to deal with the deluge.

In Morayfield, just north of Brisbane, local roads and houses were submerged, with several cars seen trapped.

One person was trapped inside a car, but was safely rescued by police, with no injuries reported, while another dramatic rescue involved a journalist.

Will Murray, an ABC reporter based in Brisbane, had just arrived at Buchanan Road when he witnessed a 4WD stuck in floodwaters.

The ute stalled and started to sink, which led to Murray and another bystander jumping into action.

“We knew we only had a few seconds,” Murray told the ABC after the rescue.

“I didn’t speak to the other man who was there, but I know he was thinking the same thing, we have to smash this back window, because in 10 seconds’ time he’s going to go fully under.”

The pair initially tried to open the closest door but had no luck.

The rescuers then got onto the back of the car with the thought to break the back window.

Finally, the pair attempted to open another door.

“I thought to try the passenger side rear door first and put my feet against the car and pulled as hard as I could and with some luck the door swung open,” Murray said.

“I think water rushing in helped create some pressure to force the door open.”

Murray said his fellow rescuer “appeared out of nowhere”.

“Shirt off, shorts off, ready to go, much more prepared than I was in my full suit pants and shirt,” he said.

“I’m just extremely grateful that he was there.

“I can’t overstate how quick it was, it was in, started to float, started to sink within I think 15 or 20 seconds.

“He was saying he didn’t see the signage, he didn’t realise how deep it was.”

The driver was able to make his way through the open door, with the entire rescue being captured on camera.

The trio hugged in the water following the rescue but they did not exchange names.

Paramedics were at the scene, but the person rescued did not request attention, and there were no reported injuries to anyone involved.

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An ABC spokesperson told nine.com.au: “Will showed great courage and initiative. We are pleased to confirm he is safe and well.”

Storms to last for days, experts warn

Experts warn there will be little let up in the coming days, with up to two months of rain falling in a short period of time.

“We’ve had over 100mm in the last 12 hours on the Gold Coast, and we are expecting flash flooding to occur today,” Nine weather expert Garry Youngberry told Today.

Youngberry said the wet weather began as a low pressure system over central and outback Queensland, which until now had been suffering from drought-like conditions.

He said the worst of the rain was coming today because the storms would move slowly, meaning more rainfall in a concentrated area.

This also leads to a higher chance of flash flooding.

While the rainfall is welcome in these areas, it will cause issues in the state’s south-east.

“[It’s] too much to fall in the south-east, this rainfall event is set to continue right until through until Monday at this stage,” Youngberry warned.

The wet weather could also have an impact on the Gold Coast 500 supercars race, which is being held between Friday and Sunday.

The storms are also spreading into New South Wales, with Youngberry warning that coastal regions of the state’s north have been hit by a rain dump.

“Byron Bay, Ballina, even Port Macquarie waking up to about 55mm this morning,” he said.

The Bureau of Meteorology is urging residents in impacted regions to exercise extreme caution, especially on the roads, and to only drive if they have to.

It also warned people to never drive into floodwaters.