A powerful weather system that’s moving toward the southeast coast of Queensland dumped up to 200 millimeters of rain.
This caused Urban Utilities to issue an alert for people to stay away from the Brisbane River due to a wastewater spill.
The affected areas include the Bulimba-Murarrie Bridge and the Colmslie Beach Reserve.
According to Urban Utilities, the incident happened due to the overflow of a temporary relief facility at the Morningside.
It was caused by the heavy rainfall that dumped over 200 millimeters of water on the region. Meanwhile, a pipe in the Bulimba-Hamilton Siphoon was offline due to a project.
The company stated that it manages the overflow through its relief point, which is designed to minimize the effects of the weather on the environment and its customers. It was allowed to release wastewater during wet weather conditions, and Urban Utilities apologized for the inconvenience caused. In response to the incident, Queensland Health also released a statement to advise the public about the risks of exposure to harmful chemicals.
The statement noted that exposure to polluted water can cause various infections, such as a nose and throat infection, ear, ear, and wound infections. People should avoid contact with the river and wash their skin thoroughly to prevent getting sick. It was issued after Sky News Weather’s Rob Sharpe reported that many parts of Queensland experienced the heaviest rainfall in over a decade.
In Central Queensland, various areas including Byfield, Samuel Hill, Pacific Heights, Hedlow Airfield, and Rockhampton, received significant rainfalls. According to Bureau of Meteorology official Felim Hanniffy, the totals recorded in these areas exceeded 80-year-old records.
Mr Hanniffy noted that the 112mm that was recorded at Pacific Heights in August was the highest amount in the area in over a hundred years. In addition, the 84mm that was recorded at Rockhampton broke a record for the month. The heavy rainfalls and the resulting flooding prompted numerous rescues.
A woman in her 60s was rescued from her vehicle in the North Burnett region after it got stuck in flood water at the Isis Highway and Burnett Highway intersection at Ban Ban Springs. A man in his 20s was also rescued from his vehicle in Palmwoods after it got stuck in flood water.
A spokesperson for the Queensland Police Service said that a vehicle slid off the road into a creek at Yengarie, west of Maryborough. Emergency services responded to a call about a vehicle that had been submerged in a flooded causeway. They also went to the aid of two kids who got trapped in a drain.
Areas around the Sunshine Coast recorded up to 80mm of rainfall, which was the most since 2014. Mr Sharpe noted that there were also reports of up to 80mm of rainfall in the Hinterland and Gold Coast. However, for places such as the Gold Coast and Brisbane, the previous year was more wet.
According to Mr Hanniffy, the heavy rainfall that affected the region has now passed. However, there is still a chance that some parts of southeast Queensland could receive moderate to locally heavy rainfalls. He also noted that a fog watch was issued for South-East Queensland due to the heavy rainfalls. The weather forecaster said that the airport at Brisbane could be affected by the fog on Thursday and Friday.
Fog may develop in the early hours and become a watch point, which could lead to poor driving conditions, especially in southeast and central districts that experienced significant rainfall.
He said that the fog would start to clear by Friday morning. Temperatures are expected to reach highs of around 30 degrees Celsius by the weekend. In addition, he noted that a cool westerly flow will bring cooler temperatures over the next couple of days. The Ipswich Turf Club also announced on its social media page that its race meeting has been abandoned due to a track inspection.
Originally, the meeting was scheduled to start at 12.33pm. However, the club noted that the track has received more rain this morning and last night, which made it unsuitable for the racing. The club said that any horse that has been accepted for the meeting can still nominate and participate in any other race meeting if its acceptances have not yet been taken.