This afternoon the Bureau of Meteorology issued a Severe Weather Warning for damaging wind, heavy rain, abnormally high tides and dangerous surf for many parts of Queensland, including for the Wide Bay and Burnett area.
Heavy rain and damaging winds are possible from the coast to the ranges between Rockhampton and Brisbane from Thursday, extending down to the state’s southern border during Friday.
Mayor Cr Mal Forman said Council had been monitoring the weather event over the last few days in consultation with the Bundaberg Local Disaster Management Group (LDMG) and District Disaster Management Group (DDMG), the Bureau of Meteorology (BoM) and the State Disaster Coordination Centre.
“At this stage, the advice from BoM is that the low in the Coral Sea will drift south and may cross the Capricornia or Wide Bay coast on Friday,” Cr Forman said.
“Projected rainfall totals for the Wide Bay region from Thursday to Saturday could exceed 200mm, especially near the coast.”
BoM have also issue an initial Flood Watch for rivers, streams and creeks between Rockhampton and the NSW border.
“I would once again like to stress that a Flood Watch is not a cause for concern but is a notification based on possible rainfall to assist in the preparation of residents and relevant agencies.
“Whilst it is not anticipated that the projected rainfall will cause any river flooding of the Burnett River, Council is able to integrate any projected river levels rises with our flood mapping technology to give early warning to residents should circumstances change.
“However, coastal rivers and streams are likely to see rises as heavy rain falls along the coast, similar to the effects of the recent rain event about two weeks ago.”
Coinciding with this rain event are the highest tides of the year. Residents will see that those areas that are usually impacted by King Tides will be so this week on Thursday and Friday.
Heavy rainfall may cause localised flash flooding, so residents should remain alert, tune in to warnings on radio and at www.qldalert.com and exercise caution when driving in areas with water over the road.
If significant rainfall does occur residents can access Council’s world-class flood mapping technology at bundaberg.qld.gov.au to get real-time data from river and rain gauges showing the impact of any potential river rises on their property.
Council and the LDMG will continue to very closely monitor the developing weather situation and will receive regular briefings from the Bureau of Meteorology. Council will provide regular updates to the community. For latest warnings from BoM, visit www.bom.gov.au
ENDS