Intense rain to linger over flooded Qld
Hundreds of people have been evacuated and rescued from rising floodwaters, as severe thunderstorms pummelling southeast Queensland are forecast to linger longer than expected.
A massive low-pressure trough is dumping intense rainfall - up to 160mm in six hours - on the Brisbane, Ipswich, Lockyer Valley, Darling Downs, Moreton Bay, Sunshine Coast, Wide Bay-Burnett, Bundaberg and Gladstone regions.
Queensland Fire and Emergency Services conducted nine swiftwater rescues and received 150 calls for help in the 24 hours to 9am on Friday.
Premier Annastacia Palaszczuk said the rain is not as constant and intense as downpours that caused major floods in February, but will linger longer than expected into Saturday.
She said the main concern is for communities along the flooding Condamine, Logan, and Bremmer rivers, as well as Warril, Laidley and Lockyer creeks.
"If you don't need to be out and about on the roads in the southeast, please don't travel unless you absolutely must," Ms Palaszczuk said on Friday.
"And please remember: if it's flooded, forget it.
"Please don't be anxious. The key thing is to be listening to the alerts and we'll be keeping everybody updated as much as possible."
Laidley residents are being evacuated, with floodwaters impacting 300 homes in the town, west of Brisbane, as a brown torrent gushes down the main street after Lockyer Creek rose to a major flood level.
People in other low-lying parts in nearby Grantham, Gatton, Mount Tarampa, Minden, Patrick Estate and Prenzlau have also fled or are preparing to do so.
South of Toowoomba, a major flood is underway on the Condamine River, with homes at risk at Warwick, Millmerran, Cecil Plains and Cooby Creek, while flash-flooding is occurring near Killarney and Stanthorpe.
The Logan River has also broken its banks at Beaudesert, south of Brisbane, and reached a major flood level, while the Mary River is flooding at Gympie.
The Brisbane River is not expected to rise above a minor flood level, but Bureau of Meteorology senior forecaster Laura Boekel said it was still an "evolving situation".
Flash flooding remains a risk in saturated creeks and streams across the city, she warned.
"Areas within that severe weather warning area are at risk of seeing more intense rainfall within the widespread band, and that's where we can start to see flash flooding, and that's when the situation can become potentially life threatening," Ms Boekel told reporters.
Almost 740 roads are closed or impacted by floodwaters and authorities have closed more than 70 schools due to the weather.
Deputy Police Commissioner Steve Gollschewski said people in potentially impacted areas should stay connected, listen to warnings and take action at the right time.
He urged people people never to drive through floodwaters, with a number of avoidable rescues already carried out.
"We have lost far too many lives on our roads this year and in previous events," Mr Gollschewski said.
A powerful easterly swell and strong onshore winds have whipped up four-metre waves with the BOM warning of dangerous surf conditions and possible coastal erosion between Fraser Island and the NSW border.
The unseasonal deluge is Queensland's sixth deadly flood since December, which scientists have put down to a second La Nina weather pattern in two years.
