Queensland flood: Rain will continue for 24 hours as SES volunteer who died in flood labelled a hero

Queenslanders have been warned the state’s relentless rain will continue for another 24 hours – as an SES volunteer who died trying to rescue a family from rising floodwaters was remembered as a hero.

Authorities in the Sunshine State have confirmed five people have so far died in the flooding in south-east Queensland, which has completely inundated the regional town of Gympie. 

The region is being pummeled by severe thunderstorms from a low-pressure trough, which has been sitting over the NSW/Queensland border for the past five days. 

Gympie Council has started evacuating 700 people living along the swollen Mary River, which will rise above its highest level in 23 years in the next 24 hours. 

Recent rainfall figures show some areas have copped unseasonal levels of rain to start the weekend, with Mt Glorious in north Brisbane exceeding 900mm since Friday.

Forecasters predict up to 300mm of rain could fall in six hours in the region on Saturday night.

A severe weather warning remains in place for southern Queensland, with large flood warnings in place for Gympie and Yandina on the Sunshine Coast. 

Beaches across Queensland have been closed, ferries cancelled and flood warnings declared in multiple areas as conditions continue to worsen. 

On Saturday evening, police divers found the body of a man, 37, in the Gympie region to see the death toll rise to five. 

The development comes as a selfless SES volunteer who died trying to rescue a family trapped in floodwaters on Friday night in Queensland was remembered as a community hero who made ‘the ultimate sacrifice’.  

Gympie in Queensland’s south-east was hammered with more than a month’s worth of rain in less than 24 hours

Residents in Oxley in Brisbane’s south-west found themselves trapped as the wild weather set in on Saturday

Two men were seen on Saturday trying to rescue a tradie stranded on his ute as flood waters ravaged Queensland

Merryl Dray, 62, – a member of the Lowood SES Group – died when her vehicle was swept away as she tried to help a family escape rising floodwaters at Coolana, west of Brisbane, on Friday night. 

Three others who were in the vehicle were successfully rescued from the floodwaters, but Ms Dray could not be saved. 

QFES Commissioner Greg Leach paid tribute to Ms Dray, a volunteer with the SES for four and a half years who had dedicated 520 hours of her time to the service 

‘Merryl was trained in storm damage response, first aid and traffic control and was passionate about helping her local community,’ he said. 

‘The Dray family and the Lowood SES Group thank the community for the love and support that is being extended to them during this difficult time.’  

Premier Annastacia Palaszczuk also paid tribute to Ms Dray’s selfless act of service. 

‘My heart goes out to this SES volunteer’s family, colleagues and friends,’ Ms Palaszczuk said. 

 ‘This SES volunteer was out in the worst of the conditions trying to help her fellow Queenslanders.’ 

Five people have lost their lives in Queensland as a slow-moving weather system pummels the state’s south-east, as flooding continues to cause chaos for many residents. Pictured is flooding in Gympie

Police Minister Mark Ryan labelled the news a ‘terrible tragedy’ and that Ms Dray made the ‘ultimate sacrifice’.

In flooding described as the ‘worst in 30 years’, four people have now died across the state.     

Gympie, north of Brisbane, was completely inundated by floodwaters on Saturday.

Aerial footage shows the town swamped by rising waters with the main road cut off and buildings submerged. 

The Bureau of Meteorology expects floodwater levels to continue rising and surpass the record of 21.95m set in 1999.   

More than 300mm of rain fell in multiple areas around Brisbane, the Lockyer Valley and Sunshine Coast.

At Mt Glorious, north west of Brisbane, 690mm of rain fell between 9am Friday and 7am Saturday.

At Pomona on the Sunshine Coast, 535mm of rain fell up to 6am this morning. 

The SES received more than 2,000 calls for help and carried out 132 swift water rescues in the last 24 hours across the impacted region. 

Five people – including Ms Dray – have now died across the state, as conditions show no signs of easing. 

A Queensland town is underwater and five people have died as the worst flooding in 30 years hits the state – with two people missing and 2,000 calls made for help

Gympie, north of Brisbane, was completely inundated by floodwaters on Saturday

Aerial footage shows the town swamped by rising waters with the main road cut off and buildings submerged

Regional city Gympie has been battered by heavy rain since the start of the weekend as the downpour rips across southern Queensland

The body of a 55-year-old Camp Hill man was discovered at Stones Corner, south of Brisbane, at 1.30am on Saturday. 

A 54-year-old man was killed when trying to ride a motorbike through rising water at Gympie and a 63-year-old woman’s body was found in a submerged car on the Sunshine Coast during the week.  

Major flood warnings have also been issued for Mooloolah rivers, Maroochy and Noosa rivers, Upper Brisbane and Stanley rivers and the Bremer River, along with Laidley, Lockyer and Warrill creeks. 

A Queensland SES volunteer who was on his way to rescue a family stranded in flood waters has died as wild weather continues to batter the state and NSW

‘In some parts of south east Queensland, this is the biggest event that they will see in a number of decades and the rain has not stopped. In fact, there are some parts where it is intensifying,’ Police Minister Mark Ryan said on Saturday.

Already saturated catchments are increasing the flood risk and Mr Ryan advised people to take extra caution in the coming days.

‘I need everyone out there to be making sensible decisions,’ he said.   

The deaths come after a family was rescued by helicopter, the SES responded to hundreds of calls for help and more flood warnings were issued for Queensland and severe thunderstorms forecast for NSW

A stranded resident standing on her front porch and watching flood waters slowly creep up around her Ipswich home on Saturday

Bremer River has broken its banks as heavy rain continues to fall in southern Queensland on Saturday

Residents in the Lockyer Valley town of Grantham, where a three-metre wall of water swept through and devastated the community in 2011, heard flood sirens on Friday as residents of low-lying areas were told to move to higher ground.

Six people took refuge on the roofs of homes as emergency services made plans to rescue them, with the weather so severe aircraft was unable to assist. 

The intense weather was continuing on Saturday, with the Bureau of Meteorology warning that surface trough is likely to deepen further into a low pressure system.

A couple observe flooding at the One Mile bridge in Ipswich, south-west of Brisbane, on Saturday

A family watches flood waters rise along Tiger Street in Ipswich, south-west of Brisbane, on Saturday

Local takes a photo of flood waters along One Mile bridge in Ipswich as heavy rain continues to fall

Flood water levels have slowly been inching closer to the one-and-a-half metre mark in Ipswich

A family has been rescued by helicopter after their home was surrounded by floodwaters, as further warnings were issued in Queensland and severe thunderstorms are forecast for NSW

Sydneysiders braved the heavy downpour to spend a day out in the city as Queensland is bombarded by flash flooding

One Mile bridge in Ipswich has completely disappeared as raging flood waters continue to rise

‘The evolution of this system and its relatively slow movement will continue to cause significant and prolonged impacts across south east Queensland over the weekend,’ the bureau warns.

Locally intense rainfall that could lead to dangerous flash flooding is possible, and could heighten the risk of landslides.

‘If it’s flooded, forget it.’