QLD town declared emergency zone as more rain lashes eastern states
A Queensland town has been declared an emergency zone with residents told to evacuate as rising flood waters threaten locals.
Authorities overnight issued an emergency warning for the town of Inglewood, located in a bend of quickly rising Canning Creek about 230km west of the Gold Coast, near the NSW border.
"The situation in Inglewood is rapidly changing, with a very quick river rise in the Macintyre Brook and revised major flood threat from the Bureau of Meteorology which will likely impact the whole of Inglewood town," the Goondiwindi Regional Council warned on Tuesday night.
"The Local Disaster Management Group is directing residents to IMMEDIATELY evacuate."
About 1000 residents are being evacuated with spillover from a nearby dam expected.
"A fair amount of water is flowing into the nearby Coolmunda Dam, which was already overflowing," Goondiwindi Regional Council Mayor Lawrence Springborg told ABC News.
"We’re expecting at least the volume of that dam to pass through it in the next 24 hours."
It comes as severe thunderstorms again delivered heavy rain and large hail to north and western NSW overnight.
The Bureau of Meteorology warned on Tuesday evening a "tropical airmass with abundant moisture" was in place and severe thunderstorms were likely to produce heavy rain that could cause flash floodings, damaging winds and large hailstones.
The storms were expected to impact as far south as Griffith in the Riverina region.
In the hours prior to the warning a 100km/h wind gust was detected north of the Queensland border.
Further rain expected on Wednesday threatens to add even more water into catchments already at risk of flooding in the northern rivers region of NSW.
Here's a high-resolution model update on the heavy rain that's going to fall over QLD and northern NSW during the next 48 hours. Some places that are already experiencing flooding could see 100-200mm during the next two days, with 6-hour rain rates possibly reaching 60-80mm. pic.twitter.com/KDUivTw2XY
— Ben Domensino (@Ben_Domensino) November 29, 2021
A flood watch was issued on Tuesday for rivers there and on the mid-north coast, with possible renewed river level rises in the northwest slopes as well.
Renewed river level rises and subsequent flooding possible along the Upper Macintyre, Gwydir and Namoi rivers are also of great concern.
The SES is closely monitoring the Macquarie River as it heads through the central NSW town of Warren, where it's expected to reach around 9.3 metres on Wednesday morning and deliver major flooding.
Widespread flooding is also expected in nearby Gin Gin.
with AAP
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