Brisbane braces for massive flood

11 Jan 2011, 3:19 pm   -   Source: AAP
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Evacuations underway after the Brisbane River banks break amid fears Brisbane will see its worst flooding since the 1974 disaster.

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Evacuations underway after the Brisbane River banks break amid fears Brisbane will see its worst flooding since the 1974 disaster.

Whole families are unaccounted for after flash floods in southern Queensland, with nine confirmed dead and Premier Anna Bligh warning the toll could rise dramatically.

Ms Bligh said authorities were considering declaring a mega-disaster zone over a "significant region" of Queensland, a move that would be unprecedented in the state's history.

"We are just looking for an appropriate northern line and everything south of that would be declared," she said.

Thousands of Brisbane homes to be flooded

Forecasts show about 6500 properties will be flooded in Brisbane, Lord Mayor Campbell Newman says.

He says the next few days will see a large-scale disaster unfolding across the city, ahead of an expected peak in the Brisbane River on Thursday.

Mr Newman said the 6500 homes and businesses expected to experience direct, "significant" flooding would affect 14,900 people.

He said a further 16,500 properties would be partially affected by flooding.

"So the situation is very serious," he told reporters on Tuesday.

People flee as Brisbane road closures grow

Brisbane roads are becoming choked as people leave work to secure their homes from floodwaters which are closing a growing number of roads.

Riverside suburbs are worst affected, including Milton, where Douglas Street, Camford Street, Eagle Terrace and Huxham Terrace were inundated.

Milton Road was not inundated at 1pm (AEST) on Tuesday but traffic is congested, police said.

At Fairfield, cars were beginning to float down Ashby Street and at Jindalee the DFO factory outlets were evacuated, causing major traffic delays around the Sinnamon Road on-ramp to the Centenary Motorway.

Trains cut off

Rising floodwaters have cut train services north and west of Brisbane.

Southeast Queensland's public transport operator Translink has closed the Ipswich to Rosewood train services and there are no trains north of Burpengary to Caboolture and as far north as Gympie.

"There are no trains beyond Ipswich and no trains between Burpengary and Gympie," a Translink spokesman told AAP.

"Strong currents in the Brisbane river has also caused the cancellation of all river cats and ferries."

He said buses in Caboolture and the Redcliffe area have been cancelled and a limited number of bus services in Ipswich but most bus services in Brisbane are still running.

"There are a lot of disruptions and there will be lengthy delays in bus and train services," he said.

Residents urged flee early

Other major flooded roads included Sandgate Road near Pedder Street at Albion, in the city's north, Queenswharf Road at North Quay in the CBD and Gympie Road at Lawnton, north of the city.

Police were urging people to give themselves plenty of time to get home from work safely.

A full list of flooded roads was available on the Queensland Police Facebook page: www.facebook.com/queenslandpolice.

It's feared Brisbane could be about to experience its worst flood since the catastrophic 1974 event, when at least 6700 homes were partially or totally flooded in the Brisbane metropolitan area.

The Wivenhoe dam was subsequently built to the protect the city.

Ipswich residents evacuated

Some residents at Ipswich were also evacuating areas close to the rising Bremer River on Tuesday.

"I'm told by the experts we are likely to see levels similar to the dreadful 1974 floods," Mayor Paul Pisasale said.

The floods of '74 flooded 1800 homes and businesses in Ipswich, and 41 homes were washed away.

On Tuesday, the Wivenhoe Dam was at 173 per cent capacity. It can take up to 200 per cent. Somerset dam, which feeds into Wivenhoe, was at 160 per cent, the SEQ Water Grid said.

It said controlled releases from Wivenhoe would need to be increased further on Tuesday.

"These releases are being made in consultation with the Bureau of Meteorology and local councils and aim to limit downstream impacts where possible," it said.

"Note, these large releases are necessary for the safe management of the dam."

It said water levels in Somerset were expected to continue to rise on Tuesday and areas around Kilcoy were likely to be impacted by the rising dam levels.

Residents in the upper Somerset townships of Kilcoy, Jimna and Linville are being urged to conserve water due to the impacts of local flooding on water infrastructure.

Water infrastructure damaged

Water Grid spokesperson Dan Spiller said vital water infrastructure in those areas had been damaged by flood waters, cutting off the raw water supply.

"We have a limited supply in local reservoirs that is expected to last one to three days.

However, we will ensure that critical supplies are maintained. In the meantime, we are asking people to conserve water while we repair equipment and organise alternative supplies," he said.

In Jimna and Linville, rising waters have impacted infrastructure that supports the region's supply.

Approximately 1,000 residents on town water across these three areas were affected, it said. "We are asking people to restrict non-essential water use ...," Mr Spiller said.

Car parks in Brisbane's CBD have opened their boom gates, telling people to get their cars out. Sky News reports public transport in the CBD will be suspended within the hour.

CityCat and CityFerry services on the Brisbane River have already stopped.

For more information call the Flood Hotline on 1300 99 31 91.

 

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Your Comments

high and dry

gary - from toowoomba, 1 year

I remember 74 and took it into account when i buillt my house ,everyone knew it would happen again and what was done NOTHING new houses built in flood areas greedy councils collecting cash and not laying infrastructure in place to deal with this and after all this is over what will be done NOTHING its a never ending cycle ,just because the experts say its a hundred years flood doesnt mean i could not happen again next week

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