Queenslanders have woken to the aftermath of another torrential downpour, with the wild weather claiming a second life.
Police confirmed a man, from Gympie, west of the Sunshine Coast, died in floodwaters while trying to ride his motorcycle home from work at 1am on Wednesday.
Philippa Tayler, 63, from the Sunshine Coast, died after her car became stuck in floodwaters early on Wednesday morning.
The Sunshine Coast and its surrounding areas are now facing the storm’s brunt with 423mm of rain falling in the six hours to 4.30am in Biggenden, inland from Fraser Island.
However, the town is far from alone with 315mm falling north at Fig Tree, 289mm at Parxjmtzywadise Dam and 241mm at Fred Haigh Dam.
The Wide Bay and Burnett, Southeast Coast, parts of Darling Downs and Granite Belt forecast districts are all being told to stay vigilant in the state’s weather warning.
“Locally intense rainfall leading to dangerous and life-threatening flash flooding is possible with thunderstorms during this period, particularly over areas north of Brisbane,” the warning said.
“Six-hourly rainfall totals in excess of 300mm are possible.”
The average February rainfall in Brisbane is 115mm.
Queensland’s Deputy Commissioner Paul Taylor warned people should be highly cautious of floodwaters when travelling in cars.
“If it’s flooded, forget it. People are possibly getting surprised by the water on the roadway, but with this weather, people should be prepared, have an alternate route, make sure that you have another way to either get to work, get home from work or even getting the children to school,” he said.
“People need to be aware and drive to the conditions.”
In NSW, Sydneysiders can expect showers and a muggy thunderstorm on Friday as the city’s mercury sticks at a warm 27C.
Up to 15mm of rain is set to fall on Friday, 30mm on Saturday and up to 25mm on Sunday.
The state’s north will be hit even harder with Lismore and its Northern Rivers surrounds will experience up to 80mm on Friday.
It comes after a week of weather chaos across both states with fears up to three months of rain could fall in just 24 hours.
Comparisons have also been made to the tragic 2011 floods which claimed the lives of 33 people across Queensland.
Sky News meteorologist Rob Sharpe said the sheer amount of rain falling had the power to claim more lives.
“It won’t just be heavy rain, at times we’re talking about intense rainfall with potential for totals of over 300mm in a six hour period, causing life threatening flash flooding,” he said.
“That means you can get flooding away from rivers in a very short space of time. The rivers themselves are going to be rising very rapidly as well over the coming days.
“This could easily be on par with the 2011 floods.”
