22.03.2021
3 min read

Gold Coast homes evacuated due to landslip amid warning ‘severe’ weather to worsen

‘Nervous’ emergency service personnel are bracing for conditions to threaten lives as rain intensifies.
Tracey FerrierBy Tracey Ferrier

Motorists warned not to drive through floodwaters

Two streets are being evacuated in the Gold Coast area after a major landslip, as the Queensland premier warns of a worsening “severe weather event”.

Heavy rain has caused flash flooding on the coast and in the hinterland.

Police are helping people leave their homes in Crest Hill Drive and the adjacent Lanes Road at Wongawallan.

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It’s unclear how many households will need to leave.

Officers say the situation is still unfolding, but the foundations of at least one home have been severely eroded, leaving it perched precariously on a hillside.

Fences have also toppled over.

Forecasters are warning of more torrential rain over the next 24 hours.

Land has slipped at the edge of a house in Wongawallan on the Gold Coast on Monday. Credit: Carly Madsen/7NEWS

“We are in for a severe weather event,” premier Annastacia Palaszczuk said on Monday.

She has urged south-east Queenslanders to stay off the roads overnight unless for essential purposes.

The rain could threaten lives across Brisbane and surrounds, the Gold Coast and the Sunshine Coast as it intensifies in the afternoon, the Bureau of Meteorology says.

The danger posed by the heavy rainfall, compounded by thunderstorm activity, will continue until Tuesday morning.

Inland communities are also braced for potential flash flooding, including Birdsville and the broader Channel Country.

A swollen Coomera River at Oxenford Weir on the Gold Coast on Monday. Credit: Dave Hunt/AAP

Communities further inland are also at risk including Warwick, Toowoomba, Dalby, Roma, Charleville, Birdsville, Emerald, Stanthorpe and Goondiwindi.

“Heavy rainfall leading to flash flooding is forecast to develop about the eastern Darling Downs & Granite Belts, and the southeast coast districts tonight and on Tuesday morning,” the bureau said in its latest warning.

“The situation is likely to pose a serious risk to already affected and flooded areas. In some areas, the situation may become life-threatening.”

Six-hourly rainfall totals in excess of 100-150mm are likely but some places could see more than that due to thunderstorm activity.

The Gold Coast’s Wongawallan Creek has flooded over a road. Credit: Marlina Whop/7NEWS

Inland, rainfall that could cause flash flooding is likely over the Channel Country from Monday afternoon.

That will extend eastwards towards the Maranoa and Warrego region, the Central Highlands, the Darling Downs and Granite Belt from Monday evening.

Six-hourly rainfall totals of 50-70mm are likely in those inland areas, but again storms could see much heavier falls in some locations.

A flood watch is current for southern parts of western and central Queensland and the Darling Downs.

Six people were plucked from floodwaters late on Sunday and overnight, with the State Emergency Service receiving 320 calls for help in the past 24 hours.

“There’s been inundation to homes, roof damage, trees down. Some of those calls involved multiple problems - water through the roof, coming up through the floor,” SES Queensland state co-ordinator Brian Cox told AAP on Monday.

“We’re nervous because there’s more severe weather predicted, and with the landscape already saturated it means we’re twice as likely to see more flash flooding.”

He pleaded with Queenslanders to heed warnings and stay off the roads unless travel is essential.

“Don’t make me put my crews at risk,” he said.

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