Moreton Bay flash flooding prompts 15 swift water rescues

Intense rain on Thursday 22 October caused flash flooding across Moreton Bay, north of Brisbane. Police said they had counted 15 swift water rescues by Friday, and the emergency service had taken more than 500 calls.

The worst-hit area was around Caboolture and Morayfield, where the Caboolture River runs to the bay. Federal flood records list major floods on that river in 1972, 1974, 1989, 1991, 2010, 2011, 2013 and 2022.

Steady rain fell through Wednesday night, and early on Thursday the Bureau of Meteorology warned of life-threatening flash flooding for Brisbane, Caboolture, Ipswich, Nambour and Woodford. After dawn the rain rate rose sharply. Sheep Station Creek at Morayfield recorded about 6.5 inches (roughly 165mm) in three hours. A Caboolture water plant had logged more than 10 inches (about 250mm) in 24 hours by 9am.

Forecasters had expected about 4 inches at Caboolture on Thursday, but roughly 9.5 inches fell in a single morning. Morayfield, next door, received about 9 inches. Forecaster Angus Hines said that much rain in six hours would be significant anywhere in Australia.

Beerburrum recorded almost 7 inches, its wettest October day on record. A normal October there brings a little over 3 inches for the whole month. Toowoomba had its wettest October day in 29 years.

At Rocksberg, west of Caboolture, a man became stranded on the roof of his pickup truck as the Caboolture River rose. Swift water crews took almost 20 minutes to reach him and got him out. Brendan Smith of Fire and Rescue Queensland said the truck shifted suddenly and was swept downstream, and that the man was extremely lucky.

At Morayfield, a driver's pickup began floating almost as soon as it entered floodwater. Reporter Will Murray called for help and swam out to the vehicle, and bystander Daniel Haney joined him. The driver's door would not open, so Haney kicked at the windows until a back door gave way. Police disaster coordinator Chris Stringer said the driver would very likely have died without the two men. He said water pressure can hold car doors shut and electronics can fail once water gets in, leaving windows inoperable.

About 94 roads were closed across greater Brisbane, including parts of the Mount Lindesay Highway, Morayfield Road and Beerburrum Road. Moreton Bay Mayor Jodie Shipway said about 47 of those closures were in the council area, and she asked residents not to drive out, even to collect sandbags. Around two dozen roads were also blocked on the Sunshine Coast, and a crash on the Bruce Highway added to the disruption.

Residents in parts of Caboolture, Burpengary and Burpengary East were told to prepare to leave. The Burpengary warning was lifted by the afternoon, but Beachmere, at the lower end of the river, received a new alert as the river began to spill over its banks. Floodwater entered Morayfield Shopping Centre, and some families waited it out in local libraries.

Energex said about 1,200 customers lost power at Kallangur, and the outage also affected customers in the Logan area. At least a dozen schools closed between Maroochydore and Ipswich. Seqwater began moving water from Somerset Dam into Wivenhoe Dam. People living in tents at a Moreton Bay park were among the first flooded out.