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The Guardian - AU
The Guardian - AU
National
Alison Rourke (now) Elle Hunt,Christopher Knaus and Helen Davidson (earlier)

Thousands without power in south-east Queensland after Cyclone Debbie – as it happened

Keara, Lacey and Erich Stewart paddle in a kayak after flood waters entered their backyard in Murwillumbah, northern New South Wales.
Keara, Lacey and Erich Stewart paddle in a kayak after flood waters entered their backyard in Murwillumbah, northern New South Wales. Photograph: Jason O'Brien/Getty Images

Summary

If the rain and flood damage isn’t bad enough for Queensland residents affected by the aftermath of Cyclone Debbie, the spiders that follow will be an unwelcome addition.

A spider sits in its web on Burdekin Bridge watching floodwaters which have risen some 10 metres in the Queensland town of Ayr on 30 March 30, after the area was hit by Cyclone Debbie.
A spider sits in its web on Burdekin Bridge watching floodwaters which have risen some 10 metres in the Queensland town of Ayr on 30 March 30, after the area was hit by Cyclone Debbie. Photograph: Peter Parks/AFP/Getty Images

I covered the Brisbane floods for the Guardian in January 2011, when torrential rain wreaked havoc across Queensland and an “inland tsunami” tragically claimed lives in the Lockyer Valley and Toowoomba.

In the Brisbane suburb of Rosalie, roads turned to rivers as house after house was cut off by rising flood waters. A local resident ferried neighbours back and forth to their homes on a fishing dinghy as the overflowing Brisbane River threatened havoc.

I travelled with resident Scott MacKenzie to his home on stilts, with water lapping at the front door. In the dinghy we carried sand bags, hastily filled at the local hardware store. Scott knew the kitchen and walls were likely to be destroyed, but he wanted to block up the toilets to prevent sewerage flowing into the house.

In the turgid, brown flood water, dozens and dozens of spiders floated beside us, washed up from flooded ground with nowhere to go. It was an arachnophobe’s nightmare. Furry, eight-legged creatures of all sizes floated on top of the water.

In flood-hit Tasmania in June 2016, trees were covered in webs as spiders sought refuge on higher ground. The Australian Museum’s collection manager in arachnology said the “mass ballooning event” was the result of tens of thousands of spiders converging on what little dry spots remained in the region. Their webs combined to form a thick netting.

Destructive winds are being recorded in Brisbane’s eastern suburbs with one gust recording 115km/h. Queensland Ambulance is warning people to stay out of stormwater and if you see anyone in it, tell them to get out!

Warnings of heavy rain have been issued for Dayboro, north-west of Brisbane. The Queensland BoM says 60-85mm of rain has fallen in the past hour.

Widespread flooding in Lismore led to a flood evacuation order for the CBD and north and south of the city.

Updated

It’s going to be a very long night for people in south-east Queensland and northern NSW with another three to six hours of heavy rainfall predicted.

The electricity company Energex says more 52, 731 customers are without power in south-east Queensland. Of that, 33,000 are on the Sunshine Coast and more than 1,100 in Brisbane.

The Queensland government’s wave monitoring unit has recorded a wave of over eight meters at Mooloolaba on the state’s Sunshine Coast. The unit uses buoys to measure the height of passing waves which are then transmitted to nearby receiver stations.

Updated

Up to 417mm of rain has fallen over the Tweed River valley in northern NSW in the past 24 hours, leading to significant rises in river levels in the area. The Bureau is forecasting further rainfall in the next 24 hours

Major flooding has happened at Murwillumbah and moderate flooding is predicted at Chinderah tonight with the high tide. Residents in the South Murwillumbah were ordered to evacuate the area earlier on Thursday.

Looks like someone forgot to give Channel 7’s Chris Reason the dress code for reporting.

The Bureau says that at 5pm ex-tropical cyclone Debbie was 100km west of Kingaroy, about two-and-a-half hours drive west of Noosa Heads on the Sunshine Coast.

The system is expected to continue moving southeastwards over southeast Queensland during Thursday afternoon and evening. Ex-tropical Cyclone Debbie is then expected to move off the far southeast coast overnight.

BoM says the storm is likely to develop off the southeast coast during Friday and slowly move eastwards away from the Queensland coast during the weekend.

One of the pictures of the day from Queensland was a bull shark washed up in Ayr, where Cylcone Debbie made landfall.

The river has risen substantially at Ipswich, south-west of Brisbane as this commuter found out on the journey home.

These broadcasters are keeping their sense of humour: “The weather radar looks like a Smurf in a blender”. I’m guess that’s lots of blue.

Can’t really argue with them.

I’m not sure the promise of free travel home is going to help anyone enjoy their journey out of the city tonight.

Ipswich council is warning of more heavy falls to come.

Updated

Noosa council says the highest annual tide will occur at 11pm tonight, exacerbating the potential for flooding in coastal areas. It says up to 400mm of rain has fallen in hinterland areas, which it says increases the likelihood of flash flooding.

Updated

The BoM is advising residents on Queensland’s Sunshine Coast to take precautions ahead of approaching “very dangerous thunderstorm activity”. It says to move cars away from trees; seek shelter (preferably indoors, never under trees); and to avoid using phones during thunderstorms.

Updated

The Bureau of Meteorology is reporting very dangerous thunderstorm activity on the Sunshine Coast in south-east Queensland. Their map (below) shows the storm moving from Noosa Heads south towards Moreton Bay.

The Bureau says the thunderstorms are forecast to affect Maroochydore, Caloundra and waters off Maroochydore by 5.40pm and waters off Bribie Island, northern Bribie Island and Beerwah by 6.10 pm. It says destructive winds are likely.

Double Island Point near Rainbow Beach (just south of Fraser Island) recorded gusts of 124km/h at 4.35pm.

Updated

Tweed Heads, Lismore, South Murwillumbah evacuation orders

Northern NSW is taking a hammering. The SES has issued an evacuation order for Tweed Heads South and Tweed Heads West. Tweed Heads has a population of 7,500 people. That adds to the orders for Lismore issued earlier and which could affect thousands more people.

The SES has also said that up to 398mm has fallen during the past 24 hours over the Tweed river valley, “with significant river level rises in the valley”. Its major flood alert goes on:

Major flooding is forecast along the Tweed River at Murwillumbah late Thursday afternoon, with river levels predicted to be slightly higher than the 2001 and 2008 floods. Further rises are possible with rainfall forecast overnight tonight.
Further rainfall is forecast over the next 24 to 48 hours which could produce further level rises. The Bureau of Meteorology has predicted that the Tweed River will: Exceed 4.80 metres at the Murwillumbah gauge late Thursday afternoon, and may reach 5.30 metres late Thursday evening.

Updated

From NSW SES HQ within the last half-hour.

The communities hardest hit by Cyclone Debbie are starting to feel a little less isolated now road access has been restored via the Bruce Highway from the north and army trucks and Ergon Energy crews are out and about.

But for most there remains no power, and “the worst thing” as Bowen local Lawrie Brazil puts it, no town water.

Backpackers who stayed in Airlie Beach have spoken of resorting to using buckets of pool water to flush the toilet and surviving on packets of chips from the convenience store (they had cup noodles but no water to make them or washed up bowls to hold them).

Worse luck, Airlie visitors on Thursday seeking beer have been turned away by local bottle shops.

There is fuel, but you have to be patient – at 3.30pm the queue for the pumps at the Bowen Caltex stretched far past the forecourt.

Updated

NSW updates flood watch and evacuation order for Lismore region

NSW SES is reminding residents of that northern NSW region round Lismore to get out of the area. At this point, time is of the essence.

The latest Major Flood bulletin for the Richmond-Wilsons River Valley from NSW SES warns of “widespread heavy rainfall to the northeast ... with very heavy localised rainfall in some areas”, bringing with it the potential for river flooding and flash floods.

Moderate to major floods are possible in Richmond-Wilsons Valley; moderate flooding in Clarence Valley, including Orara; minor flooding in Coffs Coast; minor to moderate in Bellinger Valley, Nambucca Valley and Upper Macintyre Valley.

Flood warnings are current for Tweed River and Brunswick River. A severe weather warning is current for the Northern Rivers and parts of the Mid North Coast, Hunter, Metropolitan, North West Slopes and Plains and Northern Tablelands Forecast Districts.

Andrew McPhee, the NSW SES Richmond Tweed region controller, said people in the Northern Rivers need to be aware of the imminent weather and the potential flooding effects that it may cause later in the week.

More advice and up-to-date warnings are available for NSW residents here.

Rising floodwaters also appear set to isolate some Gold Coast residents, as heavy rain continues to fall across the region.

An emergency alert has been issued for the Tallebudgera Valley, which is expected to be cut off as roads are inundated.

At nearby Springbrook, in the Gold Coast hinterland, a massive 380mm had fallen by midday, with as much as 500mm predicted – more than four times the average monthly rainfall in Brisbane for all of March.

More on that evacuation order for northern NSW.

The NSW SES advised about an hour ago that people within the South Murwillumbah, Condong and Tumbulgum areas should leave immediately, “where safe transit exists and they are able to do so. Do not delay your evacuation. Roads will be congested or closed. You could become trapped and need rescue.”
Bom is forecasting major flooding along the Tweed River at Murwillumbah, with levels predicted to be similar to the 2001 and 2008 floods. Almost 400mm of rain has fallen in just 24 hours over the Tweed River valley and there have been significant river level rises.

A severe weather warning has been issued for destructive winds, heavy rainfall, abnormally high tides and damaging surf along the coast north of Sydney and for the northeast of the state.

The bureau warns that 24-hour totals in excess of 200mm are expected over the northern rivers district today; some locations are likely to “significantly exceed 350mm”.

Updated

Go you good thing.

Daredevils jetskiing and body-boarding in flooded waterways in southeast Queensland have been warned they could divert authorities from important rescue missions.

Queensland police commissioner Ian Stewart says some people are ignoring warnings to stay safe and he fears they could cause emergencies which put the lives of rescuers at risk.

Footage and photos have emerged on social media and on news websites of people jetskiing and body boarding on flooded dams.

“If they have an accident or come adrift and require rescuing, that’s an avoidable situation – it is about putting emergency personnel in harm’s way,” Stewart told reporters on Thursday afternoon. “They may be taking emergency personnel away from an important job.”

He warned that those caught in the act by police could face penalties.

Updated

Mark Bailey, state minister for road safety and minister for energy, has said many people in North Queensland are without power and services cannot be restored while roadways are flooded.

The latest from Energex says the places where most customers affected are in Logan City (2,215), Sunshine Coast (1,824), Noosa (1,093) and the Scenic Rim Regional (1,067) areas. Updates are expected later this evening.

Updated

Now that #TCDebbie has passed #BigWet is trending on Twitter.

A note: don’t do this.

Sad news. “Debbie the cyclone cockatoo”, pulled from the floodwaters, has died.

“It is with great sadness that I can confirm that Debbie, the cockatoo caught up in Queensland’s cyclone, has died,” Bondi vet Dr Chris Brown wrote on Facebook.

“Named after the extreme weather system that has caused so much destruction and now flooding to eastern Australia, Debbie was found motionless in her box this morning. The volunteers from North Queensland Wildlife Care did all they could but it’s believed a combination of shock and internal injuries proved too much for her.

“She had come to represent the thousands of animals displaced and injured by the cyclone. RIP Debbie.”

NSW Emergency Services has issued a flood evacuation warning for parts of the state’s far north coast as ex-tropical cyclone Debbie makes her way down from Queensland.

Mark Morrow, the acting deputy commissioner of NSW SES, told ABC News 24 the crucial areas were Tumbulgum, Murwillumbah and Condon in the region of the Tweed River. Downstream, Chinderah, Bilambil and Fingal Head were also on the SES radar.

The potential for flooding of Wilsons River at Lismore could force 6,000 people to be evacuated this evening.

“Of course, we’re moving into the hours of darkness through the afternoon. We’ve got more rainfall due tonight. Time will be of the essence.”

He said it was too late for people in those areas to safeguard their homes with sandbags. “Probably more work would be required than you’d be able to do to secure the property. At this late stage ... that opportunity is probably lost.”

When Morrow appeared on ABC News 24, four to five people had been rescued in the last 15 minutes, reaching a total of just under 30. Latest information and bulletins are available at the SES website.

Updated

Queensland Fire & Emergency has shared this striking imagery of a bull shark that found itself too far inland in floodwaters.

Senior Bom forecaster James Taylor has seen fire and he’s seen rain, and a lot of the latter today. He just gave an update on ABC News 24.

The former cyclone has met with a cold front moving through north-eastern New South Wales, which is drawing in drier air in its north-west. But in the east and south, moisture from the Coral Sea is creating heavy rainfall over the Great Dividing Range and coastal regions.

Between 8am and midday in Brisbane and south-east Queensland, rainfall was in the order of 35mm to 50mm in an hour. “That happened for a few hours in a row,” said Taylor.

The rain has eased for a few hours but is about to intensify again, likely clearing in south-east Queensland just after midnight and in north-east New South Wales early tomorrow morning.

This will compound the issue of flooding, said Taylor, with warnings in place for a lot of rivers in south-east and far south-east of the state. “Now a lot of those catchments tend to drain relatively quickly. But it will depend a lot on the clearance of the rainfall.”

The real risk of flash flooding was over the next six to eight hours. “Once the ex-tropical cyclone makes its way into the Tasman Sea in the early hours of tomorrow morning, we will see a clearance.”

Swift water rescue teams have pulled over 40 people from floodwaters today, with most either stranded in cars following flash floods across Brisbane, or on the Gold and Sunshine coasts.

More details have come through of the rescue of the family trapped by floodwaters in their home at Tanawah, including four children aged from 11 months to nine years old.

Their father, who has a broken back, has stayed at the house because he can’t be moved, but has medication and food supplies to last a few days, a rescue worker has told the Nine Network.

Katarina Carroll, the Queensland Fire and Emergency Services Commissioner, said reports of water rescues were coming in fast.

“There has been close to 40 swift water rescues in the southeast, those figures are around an hour-and-a-half old so I expect they would have increased.

“We haven’t received any reports of injuries and we certainly haven’t seen a spike in triple-0 calls which is very good at this stage, but we still have several hours to go before we’re out of the woods.”

The rescues in southeast Queensland followed nearly 90 in the Mackay region overnight and this morning from floodwaters that left many stranded on the roofs of their homes and in their cars.

About 40 people were rescued by swift water crews in the Homebush area southwest of Mackay, and moved to the West Leagues Club, including a heavily-pregnant woman.

Updated

My colleague Nick Evershed has put the former Cyclone Debbie into context, comparing the severity of the former cyclone with other weather events, like a light Melbourne drizzle to the torrential downpours caused by Cyclone Yasi in 2011.

Afternoon, all – I’m taking over the live blog from Christopher, who reported half an hour ago that all the schools in south-east Queensland that were closed today would remain so tomorrow.

The state’s Department of Education and Training has put out a statement expanding on those closures, “strongly urging parents to check local weather conditions and road access, and put their safety — and that of their children — above all else”.

Parents should continue to check the dedicated school closure website as well as the BoM site.

Dr Jim Watterston, Director-General of Education and Training, said the decision to close was being made in the interests of safety, given the widespread severe weather warnings in place across much of the state.

“The effects of former tropical cyclone Debbie are far-reaching, with severe weather and flood watch warnings now current for significant parts of the watch zone. ...

“We would like to reassure all of our affected school communities that our thoughts are with them during this difficult time. The safety of all of our staff, our students and their families will always be our highest priority.”

Updated

Here’s some more vision of the situation on the Gold Coast, where major flooding has cut off roads and submerged cars. These cars are stuck in floodwaters just outside the Robina hospital.

Cars submerged in flood waters on the Gold Coast

Updated

A thunderstorm is about to bring destructive winds to the Gympie Council Area. The Bureau of Meteorology has just issued a severe thunderstorm warning, and say damaging winds will hit Kilkivan by 2.35 pm (local time) and Kilkivan, Bauple and Mount Kanighan by 3.05 pm.

thunderstorm
Thunderstorm warning Photograph: Bureau of Meteorology

Updated

Tourists who were trapped on Daydream Island are now in Airlie Beach, where they’ve again found themselves stuck with no accommodation and no information.

One of the evacuees, Hermione Gardiner, told my colleague, Helen Davidson, that they were being given very little assistance. It sounds pretty grim for the group.

“Just got to Airlie. Roads in and out are all flooded so can’t get anywhere,” she said.

“There are no emergency services or police or anything. Only film crews. The cruise Whitsundays team don’t know what to do – they said try to book accommodation if you can, but no availability and no power or water here.”

“They said there may be a bus but they have no idea, no one knows what is going on and 160 people are not happy.”

Updated

South-east Queensland schools to remain closed on Friday

Schools in storm-ravaged south-east Queensland will remain closed on Friday.

The government announced this morning that all public, private, and independent schools would close on Thursday to limit movement and prevent injuries during Thursday’s dangerous weather.

It has now been announced the closures will extend to Friday.

There were predictions the rainfall would ease on Friday. But Premier Annastacia Palaszczuk did not want to put children at any risk. School closures are in place between Agnes Water south to the NSW border.

Updated

Residents outside the Queensland town of Biloela are being urged to consider relocating as authorities issue an emergency alert for water levels at the Callide and Kroombit Dams.

Police said preparations to leave should be made immediately and residents in areas at risk are being told to head to the Biloela civic centre.

“Residents downstream of the dams are advised to monitor dam levels in case water releases are required,” police said.

Updated

The Bureau of Meteorology says parts of Brisbane have recorded 200mm in two hours. Parts of the Gold Coast have seen 380mm.

Malcolm Turnbull has arrived back in Canberra after his visit to cyclone-affected areas on the north Queensland coast. Turnbull spoke of Cyclone Debbie in question time, praising emergency services and the military, which he said had the largest pre-deployment for a natural disaster in its history.

Turnbull said his visit had reinforced the importance of cyclone-resistant structures.

“I think the leader of the opposition and I were both very impressed, as was the member for Dawson, by the way in which ... there was relatively limited damage to many structures built after 1985,” he said.

“It is quite clear that the building standards in recent years have made a very big difference.”

Turnbull praised the resilience of residents in north Queensland.

“I have to say, Mr Speaker, nature flicks her worst at us again and again, and north Queensland feels the brunt of that again and again,” he said.

“But when Australians pull together, when they work together in a common cause, they can tackle anything.”

Updated

South-east Queensland may receive 400mm of rainfall in 24 hours

South-east Queensland could experience rainfall of 400mm in 24 hours. The rainfall is set to intensify throughout the afternoon and into Thursday night.

Queensland Police commissioner, Ian Stewart, was wary of predicting rainfall in any single area.

“I think we’ve got to be careful that we’re not sending a message that you might have 400 or 500mm of rain in a particular area. It could actually happen everywhere,” Stewart said.

Updated

Some good news from the Sunshine Coast. We mentioned earlier a family was trapped in their home by floodwaters at Tanawha. They have now been rescued, and have been taken to dry land on an inflatable raft.

Parts of Murwillumbah, in northern NSW, are now flooded. The Bureau of Meteorology has issued a severe weather warning for heavy rainfall, destructive winds, abnormally high tides, and damaging surf across the Northern Rivers region, and parts of the parts of the Mid North Coast, Hunter, Metropolitan, North West Slopes and Plains and Northern Tablelands Forecast districts.

flooding
Keara,Lacey and Erich Stewart paddle in a kayak after flood waters entered there back yard in Murwillumbah, NSW. Photograph: Jason O'Brien/Getty Images
flooding
A car in flood waters in Murwillumbah, NSW. Photograph: Jason O'Brien/Getty Images
flooding
A young boy looks out over the Tweed River as flood waters rise in Murwillumbah, NSW. Photograph: Jason O'Brien/Getty Images

It's going to be a rough end to the week for southern Queensland. Storm force winds are forecast for Friday, and the rainfall is only set to intensify throughout Thursday night.

Guests stranded at the Daydream Island resort are expected to be evacuated via ferry to Hamilton Island or the Port of Airlie by 2pm local time. Hamilton Island airport is already struggling to accommodate thousands of guests wanting to get off the island, and is warning that not everyone will be able to leave today.

The heaviest of the rainfall is currently taking place in parts of Wide Bay, near Bundaberg, and areas south of Brisbane, according to the Bureau of Meteorology.

The Gold Coast seaway observation station has recorded 105mm so far.

Energy minister, Mark Bailey, has posted pictures of destroyed electricity towers across north Queensland. Ergon Energy is working to restore power to more than 60,000 homes in the region, but warns it will take time, and priority will be given to critical infrastructure like hospitals, sewage plants, and supermarkets.

Updated

More images are emerging of the trail of destruction caused by Cyclone Debbie in the Whitsunday region. Here Helen Muller of Proserpine sits in the ruins of her double garage, which was built by her father.

Helen Muller
Helen Muller

Debbie also ruined this factory in Proserpine.

ruined factory

Updated

A rescue operation is under way at Tanawha, on the Sunshine Coast, where two adults and four children are trapped in a flooded home. We’ll bring you more on that as soon as it comes to hand.

Updated

Queensland’s Fire and Emergency Services commissioner, Katarina Carroll, has spoken about the rescue of dozens of people trapped by floodwaters in towns around Mackay.

“I was just briefed some 30 minutes ago that the rescue is completed for both Eton as well as Homebush,” she told the ABC. “We had about 20 to 30 people at Eton and 40 at Homebush.

“Last night was certainly concerning for us for those two small towns. I’m very pleased with what the outcome is this morning.”

The weather was easing in Mackay, Carroll said, but movement was still “incredibly difficult”.

“We’re pleased with how the water rescues have gone. But now we’re getting into the real recovery stage of assessing the damage to all of the houses.”

Power is still off in the Whitsunday region but emergency services are reaching people trapped on islands. Carroll warned the power would be off for some time.

Daydream Island’s water shortage was being addressed, she said.

Updated

The Nerang river on the Gold Coast is flooded. The major M1 highway remains flooded at Mudgeeraba. The Gold Coast Bulletin has put together a full list of road closures here.

Updated

The RACQ has already received 252 insurance claims after Cyclone Debbie.

The Insurance Council of Australia declared Debbie a catastrophe on Tuesday. The damage bill is expected to be significant. It was the worst cyclone to hit the region since Yasi in 2011. That cyclone resulted in $1.4bn in insurance claims.

Queensland’s premier, Annastacia Palaszczuk, yesterday urged insurance companies to treat residents with decency and respect.

“There are going to be a lot of people who are upset, who have had their family homes damaged, and they need to have someone friendly on the other end of that phone call,” she said.

“These are people who have had their lives turned upside down. So I would hope that they do the right thing.”

Updated

AAP is reporting waits of up to an hour for sandbags at some Brisbane SES depots.

The waits are occurring despite thousands being pre-prepared. The city’s lord mayor, Graham Quirk, said the council had arranged for 500 tonnes of sand to be turned into 40,000 sandbags this week and crews are now adding to that at a rate of 4,000 an hour. The lord mayor arrived at Brisbane’s Newmarket SES depot to a line of cars waiting up to an hour for sandbags, as parts of the city experience flash flooding.

Quirk said authorities were mostly worried about creek systems flooding if there were intense bursts of rain, rather than sustained downfalls.

“I’d just ask people to be patient around that, if you do need sandbags, five depots are available,” he told reporters.
“If you are concerned about river flooding, please do not be concerned, please do not come and collect sandbags if you were affected by river flooding in 2011, 2013.
“If you are in a creek system, then absolutely if you feel the need to, come and get sandbags.”

Updated

Motorists appear to be ignoring the warnings of authorities to stay off the roads. Vision shows cars driving through floodwaters in Milton, on the northern banks of the Brisbane river.

Backstreets in the nearby suburb of Paddington are also flooded.

Updated

The State Emergency Service has received more than 430 calls for help in south-east Queensland, mostly for sandbagging.

Police are receiving calls about localised flooding across the city.

The Queensland University of Technology has closed its campus entirely.

QUT sign

Major flooding is now expected for NSW’s northern rivers, including the Tweed. The Bureau of Meteorology has just updated its flood warning for the region.

We mentioned earlier that people were trapped by floodwaters at Eton, near Mackay. Emergency services say they have now evacuated more than 80 people from Eton. That includes 12 people who were taken by helicopter to Walkerston, to the north-east.

Updated

The Gold Coast is experiencing major flooding. These cars are almost fully submerged outside Robina hospital.

Flooded cars
Flooded cars
Flooded cars

Updated

Worst still to come for south-east Queensland

The Bureau of Meteorology is warning that the worst is yet to come for south-east Queensland. The meteorologist James Taylor said Brisbane was now seeing 35mm to 45mm of rainfall an hour, with some areas experiencing more than 50mm. He said flash flooding was a real concern in the city. Heavy rain overnight meant the run-off from this morning’s rain would be “extremely quick”.

The remnants of Cyclone Debbie are still moving towards the state’s south-east and are starting to interact with a cold front moving north.

That means rainfall on the northern and southern flank of Debbie will intensify and push into the Great Dividing Range, south of Wide Bay and Burnett.

“That’s one threat,” Taylor told the ABC. “The winds are also another threat. We are seeing with some of the more intense shower and thunderstorm activity, wind gusts in the order of 100-110km/h along the southern coast of Queensland.

“Now, as the ex-tropical cyclone makes its way into the Tasman Sea early on Friday morning, we will see storm-force southerly winds, so winds averaging more than 100km/h [and] wind gusts more than 125km/h possible along the coastal fringe of New South Wales, and potentially into southern Queensland.”

Taylor said conditions were easing on the north Queensland coast. He said the worst was over for that region.

Updated

Brisbane’s Breakfast Creek is flooding. The creek flows from the west into the city, past the Enoggera army base, Ballymore stadium, and the Royal Brisbane and Women’s hospital, before joining the Brisbane river.

Updated

This rainfall map for Brisbane (yes, it’s in there somewhere) gives an idea of just what the city is going through right now.

Rainfall map in Brisbane

There’s an update from tourist Hermione Gardiner, who is stuck on Daydream Island. She told my colleague Helen Davidson that the navy had arrived.

“Navy is here, getting us off soon. I think we’re being shipped to Airlie Beach but no news what will happen when we get there … roads to Proserpine airport closed,” Gardiner said.

If they do manage to get to Airlie Beach, they’ll at least be fed. The Airlie Beach catering service is putting on free food to anyone who wants it.

Updated

Some pretty scary rainfall figures coming out of Brisbane. In Aspley, a suburb in the city’s north, 122mm fell in three hours. In nearby Alderley, 130mm fell over the same time. A severe thunderstorm warning was issued for the Brisbane city and Moreton Bay council areas.

Updated

Thousands of stranded tourists will be evacuated from Hamilton Island as conditions ease, and Virgin, Qantas and Jetstar resume flights to Sydney, Brisbane, Melbourne and Cairns. But Hamilton Island authorities are warning passengers that flights are already near capacity, and that the loss of power and communications is forcing airlines to conduct manual check-ins. That means each check-in will take about 25 minutes.

“As such, we are anticipating long waits for guests and apologise in advance for this inconvenience,” the authorities said.

“With over 3,000 guests in the Whitsunday region needing to return home, not all guests will be able to secure seats on a flight home today.”

Updated

Rockhampton regional council has updated its list of road closures. You can check for the latest list here.

Updated

AAP has compiled this list of closures as a result of the weather in south-east Queensland:

  • 763 state schools, 1,286 Catholic and private schools, and 546 childcare centres are now closed.
  • Beaches along 600km of coastline between Agnes Water and the New South Wales border have been closed.
  • The Australian Surf Lifesaving Championships on the Gold Coast have been suspended until further notice.
  • Gold Coast theme parks Dreamworld, Movie World, Wet’N’Wild and Sea World are all closed for the day.
  • Griffith University campuses and Queensland University of Technology campuses to close campuses from noon. University of Queensland campuses across the south-east have been closed for the day. Bond University and University of Sunshine Coast campuses are also closed.
  • Tafe Queensland has closed all south-east Queensland campuses and some rural campuses.
  • Queensland Museum and the Gallery of Modern Art closed.
  • All criminal matters adjourned at Brisbane’s supreme and district courts. Civil matters proceeding as they can on a case-by-case basis.
  • Elective surgery at the Gold Coast University hospital cancelled.
  • More than 200 roads across Queensland are closed.
  • All south-east public transport services are experiencing delays, with inbound trains between Bowen Hills and Newmarket suspended. CityCat services are running a reduced schedule.

Updated

Streets in Brisbane are already flooding. A full list of closures is on the Department of Transport and Main Roads’ website.

Flooding map

Gold Coast airport cancels flights

The Gold Coast airport is cancelling all Tigerair flights. Virgin flights are cancelled from midday local time.

The latest advice from Brisbane airport is that it remains open but will experience delays because of the weather.

Updated

Roads across a vast region of the state have either been cut off, damaged or flooded. Authorities are continuing to warn motorists to stay off the roads. Queensland’s Department of Transport and Main Roads has a map of the known road closures here but it may not be exhaustive.

The Marlborough-Sarina Road, which runs south of Mackay, has collapsed in the heavy rains.

Updated

Emergency services are reminding parents to keep their kids away from flooded creeks and drains after the closure of all schools between Agnes Water and NSW.

The closures include independent and private schools. Businesses have also been urged to close after midday.

Updated

We mentioned earlier that Malcolm Turnbull and Bill Shorten had visited cyclone-ravaged areas in north Queensland. They’ve declared themselves on a “unity ticket” in support of the region. These photos of their trip along the north Queensland coast have just come in.

Bill Shorten in a helicopter
Malcolm Turnbull and Bill Shorten help with the clean-up efforts in Bowen
Malcolm Turnbull jumps out of a helicopter in Bowen

Updated

An ABC reporter, Megan Hendry, has just tweeted this picture of a snake on the flooded Bruce Highway, at Bajool, south of Rockhampton.

Updated

Satellite imagery gives a good idea of the tropical low’s movement towards south-east Queensland.

The images come from the Himawari series of weather satellites, operated by the Japan Meteorological Agency.

They orbit in close formation, both at about 140.7°E (in line with Japan, Papua and central Australia).

Data from each new scan of the satellites is transmitted every 10 minutes, providing near real-time weather information to the Bureau of Meteorology, which then disseminates it further.

Updated

Organisers of the Australian Surf Lifesaving Championships on the Gold Coast have suspended competition until further notice because of Queensland’s wild weather.

Beaches from Mackay to the Gold Coast have been closed.

The decision comes as the region prepares for up to 300mm of rainfall from ex-tropical cyclone Debbie. In 2010 the teenage Sydney lifesaver Saxon Bird died after being swept away during an under-19 event at the championships.

Organisers were criticised at the time for continuing with the tournament despite warnings of dangerous conditions whipped up by Cyclone Ului.

In 1996 another surf lifesaver, 15-year-old Robert Gatenby, died at Kurrawa beach when Cyclone Beti was offshore.

Updated

Hermione Gardiner is on Daydream Island, which has been hit hard by the cyclone. It’s expected evacuations will begin today. Last night Gardiner described the situation.

Daydream is pretty ruined, not sure they’ll be having guests here for a while! We are getting very sparse updates so we don’t really know what is going on.

Since the cyclone passed drinking water is on rations (one bottle at a time), power is out in most areas of the hotel, as is running water so no toilets showers for the most part.

They have the central Atrium with power and are manually cleaning/filling toilets. They are serving food at meal times with what they have available.

The atmosphere is calm despite from the destruction around us most people are just getting very anxious as nobody knows when we will get out of here. Jetties are gone and waterways are closed, rumours of navy boats and helicopters coming for rescue and us being a priority but right now nothing concrete at all and as great as the staff are they don’t know anything either.

It’s looking like spending another night here tonight in damp smelly rooms with no real facilities. Trying to stay positive. Very ready to be home now.

Daydream Island after the cyclone
Daydream Island after the cyclone. Photograph: Hermione Gardiner
Damage to a lagoon
Damage to a lagoon. Photograph: Hermione Gardiner
An ADF helicopter lands briefly on Daydream Island. In the foreground, a guest has written “HELP” in the sand
An ADF helicopter lands briefly on Daydream. In the foreground, a guest has written “HELP” in the sand. Photograph: Hermione Gardiner

Updated

The first evacuation flights are reportedly leaving Hamilton Island today, and the ADF is also expected to get to Daydream, where hundreds of people are stranded.

Updated

Malcolm Turnbull and Bill Shorten have arrived in north Queensland to inspect the cyclone-affected area. They’ve said they are on a “unity ticket”.

“This is an example of nature flinging her worst at Australians,” Turnbull said.

“The whole nation gets behind them and supports them … 1,300 ADF men and women are working here now. This is the largest pre-deployment of an Australian defence force in advance of a natural disaster in history.”

Shorten said: “We congratulate the strength of the local community. Australia should realise the storm may have passed but the work has just begun.”

He has also pledged that both sides of parliament will make sure insurance claims are properly dealt with by insurance companies.

He urged people to support the region by considering holidaying there once it had recovered.

Updated

Rescues under way in north Queensland

Authorities are trying to rescue about 50 people trapped by floodwaters in and around cyclone-battered Mackay.

The Queensland Fire and Emergency Services commissioner, Katarina Carroll, says rescue efforts are under way to reach 11 people near Eton, in the Pioneer Valley, south-west of the city.

About 40 people are also awaiting rescue in the Homebush area, just outside Mackay, with swift-water crews working to move them from the West leagues club.

There were 38 water rescues overnight.

Updated

It’s “good news” that Queensland has just had a long, hot, dry summer, because the dams are not too full as these floods hit, according to the Queensland minister Mark Bailey.

Northpine dam was about 58% capacity, and Wivenhoe at 68%. “This is not comparable to the 2011 situation, let’s be clear about this,” Bailey said.

But “predictions were one thing”, he said, and authorities were watching the amount and location of rainfall and flood levels closely. There was a chance there would be some releases from those two dams on Friday or Saturday, but that would depend on the inflows.

Updated

This is the latest round-up of flood warnings for Lower Brisbane and Bremer rivers.

Updated

“One of the things that concerns me about this system, is it is very much in the south-east an intensifying system … winds are going to pick up” said Queensland’s police commissioner, Ian Stewart.

“This is a very large system and it’s starting to move quite quickly.”

Stewart asked people to make preparations to self-evacuate from low-lying areas.

“We’re hoping by tomorrow it’ll be gone and out to sea but between now and then … if your area normally floods in these sort of circumstances go and stay with relatives somewhere else. Go and stay with family and get out now. We can always replace your home. We can’t replace you.”

Updated

Good morning, this is Helen Davidson here to continue our coverage of the aftermath of cyclone Debbie and the heavy rains and flooding now affecting large parts of Queensland.

All schools in south-east Queensland – more than 600 – are closed today as the weather continues to deteriorate in the area.

The state’s deputy premier, Jackie Trad, has told children who are on their way to school to continue on their journey, where staff will arrange for them to be picked up by parents. Public transport will be free from 10am to help people get home.

Businesses have been asked to close by midday.

A severe weather warning has been cancelled for central Queensland but flood warnings are still current. The warning now extends from just south of Rockhampton to the New South Wales border.

About 150mm to 250mm of rain is expected. Parts of the Gold Coast hinterland have already received 250mm, a spokesman for the Bureau of Meteorology has said.

Updated

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