Severe storms have produced heavy rainfall in south-east Queensland, with Brisbane recording more than 80 millimetres in two hours.
The Bureau of Meteorology (BOM) said 181 millimetres of rain was recorded in the Brisbane suburb of Rosalie, 175mm in Mt Coot-tha, 162mm in Brisbane, and 154mm at Toowong.
A severe weather warning for heavy rain remains in place for parts of Ipswich, Logan, the Sunshine Coast, Brisbane City and Moreton Bay.
The SES has received about 20 calls for help across the south-east, including assistance with tarping and sandbagging.
Energex said more than 1,000 homes are without power on the northern Gold Coast. The cause of the blackout is under investigation.
Tropical low to dump rain on gulf
It comes as more heavy rainfall is set to hit parts of the state’s Gulf Country today, with the tropical low expected to make landfall as a possible cyclone this afternoon.
The impacts of the low could be felt within hours, according to the Bureau of Meteorology, with lower gulf communities already saturated from ex-Tropical Cyclone Kirrily on alert.
Flood-ravaged Burketown received at least 130mm overnight with rain persisting on Friday, while the remote Indigenous community of Doomadgee recorded 110mm.
Residents told the ABC “wet and windy” conditions were intensifying.
As the system tracks across the coast on Friday, authorities said it could still take two days for the bulk of the water from catchments to flow into gulf communities.
Emergency management coordinator for the northern region, Elliott Dunn, said there had not been much rain in the catchments so far, but further widespread rain was expected over the weekend.
“We haven’t seen those big falls that we saw last year. There are concerns because there is that uncertainty and we just need to be prepared for this weekend,” he said.
“The Nicholson and the Gregory – how they interact affects the Albert River, and we’re looking at one to two days for water to flow up from the catchments towards Burketown.
“We will be watching what happens over the weekend.”