Qld flood disaster: Danger not over yet as 76-year-old man brings death toll to nine

While much of South East Queensland is enjoying blue skies and a reprieve from rain, more severe weather is forecast to hit Queensland later this week, with authorities warning the danger is not over yet.

The State’s flood bill continues to rise as residents begin the massive clean-up.

A photo of a quad bike suspended on powerlines at Gympie shows the reality of the aftermath.

Some areas of South East Queensland were smashed by the worst flood in a century earlier in the week.

Floodwaters rose so high, residents had their entire homes destroyed.

Some watched water tanks float away, while the water rose so high in the streets a quad bike was seen hanging on powerlines after the water receded.

However, authorities have warned the worst may not be over with the Bureau of Meteorology forecasting more rain across the region at the end of the week.

The bureau said by Wednesday afternoon more showers and storms could return to the region.

Brisbane River peaked at 3.35m during Tuesday’s high tide with floodwater being pushed into homes.

The body of a 76-year-old man who went missing in floodwater near Glen Esk on Sunday was found submerged in his car at Paddy Gully Creek at Moombra.

His death brings the toll from the disaster to nine.

Premier Annastacia Palaszczuk said it was going to take “a lot of time” to get people back into their homes across the region.

“It’s around the Logan area, which saw a peak above ex-tropical cyclone Debbie and we’re hearing there could be in excess of 150 homes impacted,” she told .

“I was up in Ipswich yesterday, around 200 homes impacted. And later on this morning we’re heading up to Gympie to see how the recovery is going up there. The Bruce Highway has just opened to Gympie as well.”

The Premier has warned the damage bill could exceed more than $1bn.

“I’m expecting this will be into the millions if not hitting the billion mark,” she said.

“It’s just phenomenal.”

Ms Palaszczuk said while homes and businesses had been damaged, the state also needed to repair roads, parks and powerlines.

“This was essentially a system that sat over the entire catchments. Not only did it flow into the river, it had an impact into the streams and catchments leading into the river,” she said.

As the water is slowly receding, roads across Queensland are beginning to open, but motorists are xjmtzywbeing warned to be careful.

The Bruce Highway has reopened south of Gympie through to Brisbane, the Centenary Motorway is open through Jindalee, the Warrego Highway is open over the Bremer River at Ipswich and the M1 between Brisbane and the Gold Coast is open.

However, many roads remain closed, including the Ipswich Motorway at Rocklea, Moggill Rd is closed at Pinjarra Hills and Mount Crosby Rd is closed in multiple places.

Beechmont Rd, Currumbin Creek Rd and Tomewin Mountain Rd are all closed, while Lamington National Park road has a 20-tonne load limit between Sarabah and O’Reilly’s.

While Queenslanders are waiting for the water to recede, emergency services are still rescuing people in the Logan area.

The Logan River continued to rise on Tuesday night as high tide swept through about 10.30pm while water levels at Waterford had risen to 11.15 metres.

Up to 151 schools have been closed across the region up to Wednesday as the flood crisis continues.

Queensland Fire and Emergency Services Deputy Commissioner Mike Wassing said there were three water rescues overnight to Wednesday morning.

“We’ve had another 85 requests for assistance, that makes a total of 10,200 requests for assistance and 638 water rescues,” Mr Wassing told Today.

“That is certainly dropping off and our focus with the community and local councils and all of our partners is really now focused on the relief and recovery efforts.”

Mr Wassing warned floodwaters remained high across Maryborough, Brisbane and Logan.

“It is still a very dangerous environment,” he said.

“Unfortunately from a weather perspective the bureau are now predicting the potential for severe storms later on today and through to the weekend.”

Mr Wassing said even with waters receding there is still “a lot of damage” and warns residents to remain cautious.

While residents are returning to work and schools, road closures remain in place as debris is strewn across roads.

“With the weather coming through this afternoon and through to the weekend, our plans are in place for that,” Mr Wassing said.

“Be aware of the situation. Be aware of the weather. We expect we are going to get local storms, what will come with that will be very quick flash floods, and during those storms, it’s best not to be on the road and allow people and allow our emergency service workers to get to the areas that they need to.”

It’s expected between 50 to 100mm each day could affect water levels.

Bureau meteorologist Jonathon How said the “danger is not over yet” as severe weather could hit the region later in the week.

Brisbane received almost a year’s worth of rain in the three-day weather event.