Residents in the regional Queensland township of Sapphire were told to evacuate to higher ground on Wednesday morning after thunderstorms brought up to 215mm of rainfall to the area – but for some the heavy rain may have a silver lining.
Victoria Bentham, the co-owner of Sapphire Caravan and Cabin Park, told the Guardian the main road out of town had been completely flooded, trapping residents, but some were using the opportunity to fossick for sapphires unearthed by the heavy rain.
“There are already people out in the sapphire fields looking for sapphires,” she said.
“Sapphires are in the ground there and when it floods the flood waters wash them down the creek beds and they get stuck behind billy boulders.
“So there are numerous people already down there looking for their future fortunes. It just goes to show that even in tough times there is always a glimmer of light.”
The Central Highlands regional council issued an emergency alert for Sapphire residents just before 5am, as the river height of Retreat Creek rose nearly 10 metres in a few hours, reaching major flood level.
Severe thunderstorms with heavy rainfall across the Gem Fields #Queensland overnight saw up to 215mm of rain and river height rises at #sapphire to nearly 10m in a few hours reaching major flood level. Know your weather. Know your risks. https://t.co/rLTVafQGKj pic.twitter.com/aVpHDdRkz0
— Bureau of Meteorology, Australia (@BOM_au) March 16, 2021
The Bureau of Meteorology recorded heavy rain in the Central Highlands district in the early hours of Wednesday morning, with Florence Vale receiving 124mm of rain by 1.40am, and Keilambete receiving 138mm by 12.35am.
Bentham said that for those not seeking their fortunes, there was a more dismal outlook with the town completely surrounded by flood waters.
“The main road is completely breached and impassable. We can still get to Ruby Vale where there is a convenience store, so we have some access. But I’m told that the road at the other side of Ruby Vale is also flooded too, so we are basically an island,” Bentham said.
“We are very fortunate that we live at the top of a hill so we have dry feet, but a couple of caravan parks had to be evacuated at 4.30am this morning.”
Sapphire hadn’t flooded in around a decade. Bentham said it had been so long that “the emergency siren in Sapphire didn’t work [this morning], so I’m not sure if some people woke up to wet feet.”
The BoM had also issued flood warnings for the Bulloo River, Diamantina River, and minor flood warnings for the upper Warrego River and the Paroo River.
Heavy rain had also been recorded in the Wide Bay, and Burnett and Capricornia coasts.
Maryborough was hit with up to 103mm of rain early Tuesday morning, almost twice as much as recorded in the whole month of March 2020 and its highest daily total since 2018.
For some, the rain was a welcome break in the drought-affected central and southern parts of Queensland.
