Blog entry by Lynne Winters
Seven people have been killed and thousands of families forced to evacuate as relentless rain batters parts of south-east Queensland and a regional town in northern NSW is inundated by the worst floods in 50 years.
A 'major flooding' alert was issued by Brisbane City Council just after 8pm on Sunday night as the Bureau of Meteorology warned severe flooding is likely to come with the high tide on Monday morning.
Residents who live along the Brisbane River have been warned their properties may be at risk as the river was expected to peak at 4m, in the worst f looding the state has seen since 2011.
Some 49,000 houses across the region have been left without power with residents already fleeing their homes in Rosalie and Milton.
NSW residents living south of the Queensland border have abandoned Lismore after the SES sent an emergency warning to Northern Rivers locals at 3am.
North Lismore, South Lismore, Lismore CBD, East Lismore, Girards Hill, Woodburn, Swan Bay, Coraki, Marshalls Creek and Bilinudgel are all under threat.
Floodwaters have reached their
highest levels in half a century along Wilsons River after
reaching 12.26m at 5am - smashing the 12.15m record set in March
1974.
About 15,000 people have been evacuated on the north coast with the SES overwhelmed by calls for help and rescue teams unable to reach some people.
Desperate locals have taken to a Facebook group and left their addresses in hopes of a rescue.
Leeta Witham said she was stranded in a South Lismore house with four other people after she travelled from Melbourne to celebrate her great niece's seventh birthday.
Harrowing photos showed the group huddled with a pair of pet dogs on the kitchen bench and resting their feet on doors floating on the rising floodwaters.
Floodwaters have cut off arterial roads in Milton, Brisbane, leaving some residents stranded in their homes
A lounge chair is among the debris that has been carried away by floodwaters in Milton, Brisbane
Boats and other debris have washed up at Milton ferry terminal in Brisbane following heavy rain and widespread floods
Brisbane resident wades through floodwaters at Milton after the SES issued an emergency warning for the city
Floodwaters have reached their highest levels in half a century along Wilsons River after reaching 12.26m at 5am - smashing the 12.15m record set in March 1974 (pictured, business owner kayaks across flood waters in Rosalie, long distance car ride services Brisbane)
A man wades through floodwaters reaching up to his shoulders in Milton, Brisbane