South-East Queensland cleans up following major rain and flash-flooding amid high tides
By Melanie Vujkovic and staff
Posted
TueTuesday 15
updated
TueTuesday 15
DecDecember 2020 at 1:25pm
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South-east Queenslanders are cleaning up after heavy rainfall, damaging winds and high tides hit the region this week, with some areas on the Gold Coast hinterland receiving nearly a metre of rain.
Key points:
A Brisbane woman is today cleaning up after a 30-metre tree fell on her home
On Bribie Island, a family spent the morning saving hundreds of turtle eggs from being washed away
Beaches in south-east QLD and northern NSW have been washed out this week
Emergency services have ordered residents in flood-hit areas to evacuate
Weather event led to erosion at Byron Bay and at Currumbin on the Gold Coast
Australia s east coast will be smashed by another rain bomb, with thousands of flood-hit residents urged to evacuate ahead of the wild weather.
Holiday meccas including the Sunshine Coast, Byron Bay and the NSW north coast have been washed out by the wild weather over the past week - with erosion destroying coastlines and flash flooding devastating communities.
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Flood warnings remain in place for much of northern NSW, while Queensland emergency services have responded to more than 14,000 call outs this week alone.
Some of Australia s most tourist-friendly beaches have been destroyed by cyclonic winds, unprecedented rain and devastating surf conditions.
Just as the nation opens up following months of Covid restrictions, Australians have again been forced to reconsider their summer holiday plans.
Holiday meccas including the Sunshine Coast, Byron Bay and the New South Wales north coast have been washed out as erosion destroys coastlines and flooding tears through communities.
Flood warnings remain in place for much of northern New South Wales, while Queensland emergency services have responded to more than 14,000 call outs this week alone.
Byron Bay s famous coastline has eroded, as seen in these shocking drone images taken on Tuesday
We ve had very heavy rainfall falling in a very short amount of time and on some very wet catchment areas . that has led to rapid river rises and flash flooding, Agata Imielska from the Bureau of Meteorology said. More than 500mm of rainfall has been recorded in the region across the Northern Rivers and Mid North Coast in just four days. The Wilsons River near Lismore has now peaked at 8.2m – higher than February but lower during cyclone Debbie in 2017. In Queensland, the town of Springbrook has recorded over 900mm of rain this week after 214mm fell in the last 24 hours.
First published on Mon 14 Dec 2020 22.16 EST
Flood warnings have been issued for towns across northern New South Wales as heavy rains and abnormally high tides continue to batter a 500-kilometre stretch of coast from Taree to the border town of Tweed Heads.
The Bureau of Meteorology on Tuesday afternoon issued a number of minor and moderate flood warnings for rivers stretching from the state’s mid-north to far-north coasts, including at Murwillumbah, where residents were earlier subject to a flood evacuation notice.
Although conditions eased in some areas on Tuesday, the bureau said showers and thunderstorms would persist over the coming days and would “continue to bring the risk of flash flooding”.