An elderly Christian woman who endured the deadly 2011 Grantham floods has attributed her survival - and that of her husband - to divine intervention.
Helen Besley told the Grantham Floods Commission of Inquiry on Wednesday that she and husband Graham had been trying to flee flooding in their small southeast Queensland town in January 2011 when their vehicle was engulfed by a wave of water.
She said although the engine had cut out, the pair were both somehow able to wind down their electric windows and cling to each other across the roof using a rope, which also somehow appeared.
"We were counting our blessings," Ms Besley said.
After battling to breathe between continuous swells and holding on to each other for what "seemed like a very long time", the couple were separated.
Ms Besley paddled over to the wreckage of her sheds and was able to cling to some plastic and she could see her husband bobbing away down the torrent.
"Because I was a Christian I was just praying really loudly; I was just praying he'd be safe and wouldn't drown," she said.
"... I was just praying `Lord save me'."
She watched her husband travel about 30 metres downstream, and then all of a sudden he was clinging to wreckage close to where she was.
"I do believe it was a miracle and my husband was saved by the Good Lord that day," she said.
Ms Besley said once the floodwaters subsided they were able to leave and were taken by others to a house in nearby Helidon.
She said her only regret was that while she was getting frustrated during a triple 0 call while trying to escape the vehicle, she accidentally answered a call from her daughter on her husband's phone, which she was holding in her other hand.
Ms Besley said her daughter heard her say "If you can't help us, we'll drown".
"So that was pretty traumatic," she said.
The inquest continues.
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