A 57-year-old man has been found dead in floodwaters on Queensland’s Fraser Coast, marking a tragic turn in the state’s ongoing battle with severe weather.
Emergency services were called to Smothering Creek near Boompa Road in the small rural locality of Boompa, west of Maryborough, shortly after 11am on Monday. Despite the rapid response from crews, the man was declared deceased upon arrival. Police have stated that the exact circumstances surrounding his death remain under investigation, and a report is currently being prepared for the coroner.
The incident occurred following a deluge of rain that battered the region throughout Sunday, with Boompa Road recording 148 millimetres of rainfall in just 24 hours. While floodwaters have caused significant disruption, local authorities had expressed cautious optimism earlier in the day.
Fraser Coast Mayor George Seymour noted that the immediate threat to the region had been “downgraded significantly” by Monday morning. “We’ll see the peak in Maryborough later this morning, towards midday, and it is quite a bit lower than some of the predictions we got from the Bureau of Meteorology,” Cr Seymour said. “I think we’re over the worst of it.”
However, the Bureau of Meteorology (BoM) has urged residents to remain vigilant. While a moderate flood warning remains in place for the Mary River, the BoM has warned that fresh showers and thunderstorms forecast for Monday afternoon could lead to renewed rises in river levels.
The tragic death in Boompa follows a frantic period for emergency services, who have conducted several swift-water rescues across Queensland since Thursday. Earlier on Monday morning, crews carried out a daring rescue of six campers in Leyburn, on the Southern Downs, after their two caravans were trapped by rapidly rising floodwaters.
Additionally, two separate rescues were conducted in the Southern Downs in the early hours of Monday morning after drivers became trapped in their vehicles. A woman was rescued from her car in Warwick at approximately 3:30am, followed by another driver who was pulled from a vehicle in nearby Rosenthal Heights just 30 minutes later.
As the state grapples with the aftermath of the intense weather event, weather officials have cautioned that the danger has not yet fully passed. Damaging winds and flash flooding remain a distinct possibility for southern and south-east Queensland throughout the remainder of the afternoon, with meteorologists noting that some incoming storm cells have the potential to become severe.
Authorities are continuing to plead with motorists and residents to heed warning signs, avoid flooded roads, and stay clear of rising creeks and waterways, reiterating the long-standing safety message: “If it’s flooded, forget it.”
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