Man rescued from Queensland floodwaters as severe weather hits

A man was rescued after his car became trapped in floodwaters in the Sunshine Coast hinterland last night.

Emergency services said the driver became trapped at Cookes Road Bridge, Conondale, around 7pm last night after the bridge was submerged by water.

He was rescued several hours later and didn’t require medical attention.

More than 70 millimetres of rain fell in parts of south-east Queensland in the past 24 hours.

At least 100 to 150 millimetres of widespread rain is predicted over the next eight days from Cairns down to the New South Wales border with Tuesday and Wednesday to be the wettest days.

North Queensland is expected to receive record-breaking showers for May.

Regions likely to be most affected are Townsville and Ingham to Longreach, Windorah, Winton and Barcaldine in the west.

The rain event may also impact Rockhampton on the Central Queensland coast, Yeppoon and Gladstone.

Flood warnings are already in place for some Queensland rivers including Cooper Creek, Barcoo River and the Thomson River.

Premier Annastacia Palaszczuk warned residents yesterday to make preparations for the storm.

“There’s going to be incredibly heavy rainfall so we want people to think very carefully over the weekend,” she said.

“Of course, some of our catchments are already saturated.”

The rain event comes just months after the flood crisis that devastated parts of the state as well as the ongoing floods in the outback.