Enormous sinkhole opens up on a road just metres from a popular beach after devastating storm

An enormous sinkhole has opened up on a road just metres from a popular Sunshine Coast beach after a devastating storm.

The road gave way on Tingira Crescent at Sunrise Beach after heavy rainfall lashed the region on Sunday.

A footpath and garden area were swallowed up along with half of the road as the street fell inwards.

Emergency officials have closed Tingira Crescent, with the Bureau of Meteorology warning that storms will continue throughout Sunday, with falls of up to 40mm predicted.

A huge sinkhole has opened up on Tingira Crescent at Sunrise Beach after heavy rains on the Sunshine Coast

A footpath and garden area were swallowed up along with half of the roadway as the street fell inwards in front of houses across from the beach

A footpath and garden area were swallowed up along with half of the roadway as the street fell inwards in front of houses across from the beach

Tingira Crescent before the sinkhole emerged on Sunday

Tingira Crescent before the sinkhole emerged on Sunday

‘We could see showers and thunderstorms developing throughout the afternoon but we’re not expecting rainfall rates to be as intense,’ meteorologist Kimba Wong told AAP.

Falls of 20 to 40mm are predicted for the Sunshine Coast, Brisbane and the Gold Coast.

‘Possibly a little bit higher if you do get a storm roll over you,’ Ms Wong said.

Overnight, areas around Bundaberg in the Wide Bay-Burnett region were the hardest hit, with 95mm of rain falling in the six hours to midnight.

Collum on the Sunshine Coast also received a drenching, with 91mm of rain recorded.

‘The Gold Coast pretty much missed out last night, which is probably a good thing – just a couple of light rainfall totals of 5 to 10mm,’ Ms Wong said.

Recent rains have flooded numerous roads throughout south-east Queensland. Queensland Fire and Emergency tweeted this reminder: If it's flooded, forget it. Don't drive on flooded roads as flash floods can be fast-moving, unpredictable and are dangerous

Recent rains have flooded numerous roads throughout south-east Queensland. Queensland Fire and Emergency tweeted this reminder: If it’s flooded, forget it. Don’t drive on flooded roads as flash floods can be fast-moving, unpredictable and are dangerous

A Facebook user reported seeing a shark (pictured) floating past this flooded street in Burleigh Heads

A Facebook user reported seeing a shark (pictured) floating past this flooded street in Burleigh Heads

‘Most of the action was around the Sunshine Coast, where there may have even been some flash flooding just because the land was already so wet from the night before.’

Flooding continues to subside on the Gold Coast after some areas recorded triple their usual monthly rainfall on Friday night and Saturday morning.

The deluge hit Loders Creek the hardest with 325mm of rain falling in 12 hours, and more than 200mm recorded in parts of the Gold Coast Hinterland.

The heavy rainfall also left thousands of motorists trapped in traffic gridlock after the M1 Motorway was cut for almost seven hours on Saturday.

It reopened just after 1pm.

Theme parks MovieWorld and Wet'n'Wild Gold Coast were shut on Saturday due to the flooding (pictured)

Theme parks MovieWorld and Wet’n’Wild Gold Coast were shut on Saturday due to the flooding (pictured)

Major highways were cut at the Gold Coast suburb of Helensvale during the rain event

Major highways were cut at the Gold Coast suburb of Helensvale during the rain event

Parts of NSW have been warned of potentially severe thunderstorms as rain continues to fall across drought-stricken areas.

The Bureau of Meteorology has warned thunderstorms are expected to hit northeastern NSW on Sunday afternoon which may bring heavy rain and severe weather to the Mid North Coast and Northern Tablelands regions.

The state’s Northern Rivers region has been soaked throughout the weekend by 169mm of rain in the 24 hours to 9am on Sunday.

Meteorologist Bimal KC said the rain had settled a bit on Sunday morning.

‘We’ve had light falls, maybe five to 10mm in eastern parts of the state,’ he told AAP on Sunday.

A car disappears under flash floods on a Gold Coast road on Saturday morning

A car disappears under flash floods on a Gold Coast road on Saturday morning

Downpours over the past few days have provided relief for parts of drought-stricken NSW but the bushfire-ravaged South Coast and Snowy Valley have remained relatively dry in comparison.

But this could change on Monday with thunderstorms forecast for the state’s southeast.

‘There is a chance of thunderstorm activity tomorrow with damaging winds in the southeast part of the state,’ Mr KC said.

The rain has eased conditions for fire crews with the number of active bushfires in NSW dropping to 69, with 19 yet to be contained.

Crews are working to strengthen containment lines ahead of an expected increase in fire conditions later in the week.    

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