Flooding leaves campers stranded
A popular camping site in Queensland has been hit by flash flooding, leaving dozens of campers stranded and without the means to get out.
Police rescue efforts began ferrying campers out of the site about 1.30am on Sunday, desperately trying to reach people who were caught near the East Leichhardt Dam, 40km from Mount Isa in the state’s northwest.
Danor O’Leary got caught in the heavy downpour about 11pm on Saturday night and said he was in shock after seeing water creeping up around his tent at the campsite.
“We unzipped the tent and had the water right there — I thought it was some sort of bad dream,” Mr O’Leary told 7 News.
“It just blew my mind how high the water was. It was just some sort of sheer luck, the rushing water against the car, that kind of sounded off (for us to get out).”
He said he and his partner were able to make it to safety and then “hunkered down” to wait for rescue crews.
Also stranded at the campsite were Grace Malt and Callum Jones, who said the rising water created a very scary situation.
Mr Jones said the water was waist-deep at one stage, and the couple got a knock on the car door to evacuate the area as soon as they could.
Data from the Bureau of Meteorology showed the East Leichhardt Dam recorded 33mm of rain but the water has since begun to recede.
