A ‘Rain Bomb’ / Part 1

On Wednesday 23rd February the Bureau of Meteorology warned that an area of low pressure over the south coast of Queensland was dragging in moisture from the Coral Sea to the north and then lifting it over the coastline.
On Thursday large areas of south-east Queensland were placed under a warning for intense rainfall and thunderstorms that will cause flooding.

On Friday, the area of cooler air in the upper atmosphere drifts into the low pressure trough and starts to deliver record-breaking downpours over Brisbane and its surrounds.
On Saturday torrential rain hovers over the Brisbane region feeding the city’s Wivenhoe Dam which is filling at an incredible rate.
On Sunday Brisbane wakes up to major flooding.

There is a “rain bomb” over the city. Prime inner-city areas precinct are underwater.
There are scenes of devastation in low-lying suburbs, along creeks, and in the river itself where pontoons break free and ferry terminals are littered with smashed boats and debris.

There are up to 15,000 homes flooded in the city, with 1,544 people in evacuation centres in the south-east. Trains are cancelled, bus services limited, the main Bruce Highway is closed at multiple locations and 51,000 people are without power. At least 3,600 homes are flooded in Gympie on the Mary River to the north.

Some 612mm of rain fell on the city between 9am Friday and 6pm Sunday – the highest three-day total in records dating back to 1840.
The previous record was 600.4mm in 1974.
But that’s not the end if it.
As the weather system moves south, and Brisbane starts the clean up, there is devastation in northern NSW as Wilsons River rises two metres above previous flood records, inundating the town of Lismore.
On Tuesday morning evacuation orders are issued for South Ballina.
(To be continued)