Emergency flood warning issued for a town west of Brisbane as tropical cyclone threatens further damage to Sydney and Newcastle

This article is more than 7 months old

This article is more than 7 months old

An emergency flood warning has been issued for people in a town west of Brisbane as severe storms threaten to dump up to 250mm of rain in south-east Queensland.

Jandowae Creek was expected to peak on Wednesday, potentially leading to major flooding in the town, the Western Downs regional council said.

Multiple roads have been cut by floodwaters and properties are likely to be flooded.

“Residents are advised to secure their belongings, prepare to leave and warn neighbours,” the alert stated.

Parts of Queensland remain on flood watch and there are warnings for coastal catchments between Bundaberg and the New South Wales border.

Towns running out of water helped after deluge of rain in NSW – but many miss out Read more

The southern inland was also bracing for significant rain, including Dalby, which has flooded once in recent days and could flood again.

A severe storm warning has been issued for an area stretching from Brisbane’s bayside to the Gold Coast, with up to 250mm of rain predicted.

The RACQ has issued a flash flooding warning on the Gold Coast at Burleigh Road.

Tropical cyclone Uesi has been churning out hefty swells along Australia’s east coast and was expected to approach Queensland before weakening as it moved south.

The category three cyclone was west of Noumea on Wednesday morning and forecast to weaken as it moved south-west towards Lord Howe Island.

Gales with wind gusts up to 120km/h were expected to develop about Lord Howe Island on Thursday, the Bureau of Meteorology said.

The cyclone was expected to come close to Queensland on Thursday night or Friday, and weaken as it moved south towards NSW.

It comes as 67.1% of Queensland remains drought-declared.

Beaches around Sydney and Newcastle that suffered severe erosion at the weekend may again face strong winds and large waves. Collaroy, on Sydney’s northern beaches, and Newcastle’s Stockton beach are again among the most vulnerable.

NSW residents can also expect more rain and possible flooding in some places on Wednesday and Thursday.

The bureau issued a severe thunderstorm warning late on Tuesday for parts of the northern rivers, mid-north coast, north-west slopes and plains and northern tablelands forecast districts.

A very high chance of showers was forecast for Sydney, with 6-25mm possible on Wednesday and 15-35mm on Thursday.

In the northern rivers, Byron Bay and Tweed Heads could each receive 15-50mm on Wednesday. On the mid-north coast, Coffs Harbour could get 15-40mm.

Towns on the south coast could get heavier falls, with as much as 80-90mm forecast for Nowra, Huskisson and Ulladulla on Thursday.

Sydney weather: Collaroy and Narrabeen beach erosion as huge waves steal 25m of sand Read more

The NSW coast was drenched at the weekend. Up to 550mm of rain fell across parts of the northern rivers, mid-north coast, Central Coast, Sydney, Blue Mountains and the Illawarra.

Sydney recorded its heaviest rain in three decades and was battered by gale-force winds, with emergency services on Tuesday left to clear fallen trees, remove debris and extract cars from floodwaters.

On Tuesday night the State Emergency Service said it had received 12,951 requests for help since last Wednesday night; 10,660 callouts were completed.

Tens of thousands of households in Sydney and the Central Coast were still without power on Tuesday night. Ausgrid asked customers to prepare for outages into the weekend.

Ausgrid has asked for Australian defence force support to help restore power.

“We have asked all levels of government for assistance, specifically in the form of extra tree-clearing resources,” it said.