7 of 10 SINKING and BACKWASHING; Flooding again grips southeast Queensland! / Rain cause further flooding in northwest Queensland!

Australia TILTING and BACKWASHING:

/ Rescue as monsoon rains cause further flooding in northwest Queensland. The NSW mid-north coast city of Grafton has been inundated by floodwaters from the swollen Clarence River Aerial photo Video A TRUCK driver managed to rescue a family who spent the night trapped between two rising creeks in Queensland's northwest, as NSW has been urged to declare a series of natural disaster zones in the state's flood-hit north. /

/ More wild weather and flooding in southeast Queensland closes schools and beaches on Gold, Sunshine coasts. A MAN is clinging to a fence as he waits to be rescued from rising floodwaters at Morayfield, near Caboolture in Queensland, in the latest swiftwater rescue as flooding again grips southeast Queensland. Elsewhere, two people have been rescued after their car became stuck in rising waters at Mudgeeraba on the Gold Coast. /

/ Swollen river systems began flooding communities between Taree and the Queensland border on Tuesday after days of heavy rain. The SES said fewer than 2500 people were still isolated on Saturday afternoon - down from 12,000 on Friday evening. /

/ Family rescued in Qld flooding /

Fiji:

Fijians were cleaning up Friday after a week of heavy rain left many villages inundated with flood water!!! (Jan. 27)

Indonesia SINKING:

A number of areas in Semarang, Central Java, on Saturday (28 / 1), flood. Flooding occurred after the rain Semarang several times a day, accompanied tidal seawater or rob.

Australia:

More wild weather and flooding in southeast Queensland closes schools and beaches on Gold, Sunshine coasts

A MAN is clinging to a fence as he waits to be rescued from rising floodwaters at Morayfield, near Caboolture in Queensland, in the latest swiftwater rescue as flooding again grips southeast Queensland.

Swiftwater rescue teams have rescued man, who was trapped on Buchanans Rd, behind the Morayfield Shopping Centre.

Meanwhile, three people have escaped from a car stuck in floodwaters at Mt Archer, northwest of Caboolture.

Three people were in a vehicle sinking in the waters on Neurum Rd near Somerset Dam but managed to escape before swiftwater rescue teams arrived.

Elsewhere, two people have been rescued after their car became stuck in rising waters at Mudgeeraba on the Gold Coast.

NEW Farm residents are expected to be the first in Brisbane to benefit from backflow valves, with Brisbane City Council to start rolling out the devices within weeks.

Since midnight the SES has responded to 257 calls for help, including 160 from the Gold Coast, 70 from Brisbane and 24 from the North Coast region.

The majority of these jobs were for minor water inundation and roof damage.

Yesterday afternoon, a family and friend were rescued by helicopter with only five minutes of daylight remaining after escaping from a submerged four-wheel-drive in national park south of Bundaberg.

After fleeing from the waters the family were able to get patchy mobile reception to police to send out a rescue helicopter to the isolated Kinkuna National Park, 30km south of Bundaberg.

They were found from the air by the smoke from a fire they lit as light faded in the 15sq km of bushland.

The group winched out included a nine-year-old girl, her three-month-old sister, their 33-year-old mother, and a 41-year-old man.

The family's father also escaped the floodwaters and was found safe after trekking out of the park to seek assistance. He walked into the town of Woodgate with no injuries six hours later.

Meanwhile, three southeast Queensland schools have been closed for the day from heavy rain and flooding, as wild weather also closes beaches and maroons motorists.

Education Queensland closed Pomona State School on the Sunshine Coast at 7am today, and Darlington State School and Springbrook State School, both on the Gold Coast, were closed at 8am.

The department said it would continue to monitor the other major water-affected areas Ingleside State School, Cedar Creek State School, Robina State High School and Beechmont State School.

It also requested that any concerned parents to contact their local principal or education office for up-to-date information about access to schools, kindergartens and childcare centres.

The new closures come as Oyster Creek, near the two recent closures on the Gold Coast, recorded 91mm of falls between 4am and 5am today, causing rapid rises along the local creeks and rivers according meteorologists from the Weather Channel.

To the north hourly rain hit 50mm around Caboolture and Bribie Island, leading to a 3 metre rise along Wararba Creek at Caboolture, they said.

Weather watchers expected the deluge to keep coming through the morning, saying rainfall totals should easily top 100mm from Fraser Island to the New South Wales border.

In the Sunshine Coast hinterland 100mm of overnight rain cut roads, but conditions were easing by late morning with children out skateboarding and cycling.

Mum Megan Phipps, said son Ashton, 6, in Year 2 at Pomona State School, had not been too disappointed about an early weekend.

She said the school grounds had not been badly affected by the water, but access had been restricted with local roads, including Station Rd, closed due to flash flooding.

Showers and some storms are expected to continue in coming days, but waterlogged locals are hoping the heaviest falls are over.

Other solid totals overnight included Beerburrum with 61mm, Maleny 56mm and Gympie 60mm.

A number of Gold Coast beaches have been closed due to high tides and debris.

The Gold Coast City Council advised that debris from rivers and canals had been washed out to sea during the wet weather.

More than 10 beaches have been closed, including Main Beach, Burleigh, Broadbeach, Mermaid and Northcliffe.

Council lifeguards are urging people to check with them before entering the water on the remaining open beaches due to poor visibilty and unpleasant conditions.

Meanwhile, a man is believed to be missing in the Brisbane River at Kangaroo Point following reports he was seen jumping off a pier or boat.

A police spokesman said about 2am Friday a security guard reported seeing the man jump off a low set object, believed to be a pier or boat.

Initial searches by water police overnight found no one, with precautionary searches set to continue today.

No other information is available at this time.

Aside from the swift water rescue, State Emergency Services have received around 20 calls for help in the Gold Coast area since 5am this morning.

Another 120 requests for help were made across southeast Queensland in the 24 hours prior to 5am this morning.

SES volunteers will continue to work on the ground throughout the day to assist their local communities.

On the roads, diversions have been put in place on the Bruce Highway southbound lanes near King John Creek.

The right hand lane going northbound is being used for cars heading southbound in that area and police are warning motorists to expect delays in both directions.

A motorist contacted The Courier-Mail to say traffic is at a standstill and backed up to north of Pumicestone Road.

Southeast Queensland is getting set to batten down with severe thunderstorms and possible flash flooding predicted for this morning.

The Bureau of Meteorology has warned that heavy rain and storms are set to continue for the greater part of this morning on the Gold Coast and southern end of the Sunshine Coast.

Senior forecaster Brett Harrison said flash flooding is expected to affect the Sunshine Coast down to Caboolture and out as far as Esk in the west.

“The heavier fall will start moving inland after this morning,” he said.

“We expect that to affect the western parts of the southeast coast and push to the Darling Downs.

“Overnight the heaviest falls were on the Gold Coast but we’ve had very heavy rain through the Caboolture region for the last two to three hours.”

Mr Harrison said the largest amount of rainfall was recorded on the Gold Coast at Oyster Creek, with 158mm falling since midnight.

Mountain Reserve near Caboolture recorded 140mm in the last six hours.

Springbrook State School and Darlington State School on the Gold Coast have also been closed this morning as rising waters close roads in the area.

Pomona State School on the Sunshine Coast will be closed today with all other schools, including those that were shut down on Wednesday, expected to remain open.

Education Queensland however has said they will monitor Ingleside State School, Cedar Creek State School and Robina State School as creek levels continue to rise.

They have requested any concerned parents to contact their local principal or education office for up-to-date information about access to schools, kindergartens and childcare centres.

Energex said there were no power outages in southeast Queensland at this stage due to the wet weather.

http://www.adelaidenow.com.au/ipad/bureau-of-meteorology-warns-of-h...

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Rescue as monsoon rains cause further flooding in northwest Queensland

A farmhouse is cut off by floodwaters northwest of Grafton, on the NSW mid-north coast yesterday. Picture: Dan Himbrechts Source: The Australian

A TRUCK driver managed to rescue a family who spent the night trapped between two rising creeks in Queensland's northwest, as NSW has been urged to declare a series of natural disaster zones in the state's flood-hit north.

Authorities were alerted to the family of six's predicament 100km south of Cloncurry off the Landsborough Highway at 1.30am, a Department of Community Safety spokeswoman said.

Rescuers were hampered by floodwater and severe weather before a truck driver finally managed to get the family to safety later on Saturday morning.

Four other cars became stuck in floodwater at Bargara, Moore Park, Banana and Julia Creek, but the occupants were able to get to safety before swift water rescuers arrived.

Northwest Queensland received heavy downpours overnight, generated by a slow-moving monsoonal low which resulted in falls of up to 200mm in 24 hours.

Cloncurry has recorded a whopping 196mm of rain since 9am on Friday and Greta, north of Mt Isa, copped the heaviest falls with 200mm in the same period.

The weather system is forecast to move south over central western Queensland on Saturday, and down into southern Queensland and northern NSW on Sunday.

The central towns of Winton, Longreach, Blackall, Charleville, Roma and Windorah are on alert for heavy rain and flash flooding, with falls in excess of 150mm over 24 hours likely.

Meanwhile in NSW more than 1200 properties remained isolated in northeast NSW as flood warnings were upgraded for the swollen Clarence River.

Water levels in many areas were falling on Saturday morning, prompting some residents to turn their attention to the clear-up operation.

The declaration of disaster zones would unlock further government funding to help pay for repair work.

''There will be significant damage to our road network,'' Bellingen mayor Mark Troy told AAP.

''We are really hopeful that we will see a natural disaster declaration out of this.

''I know that Bellingen Shire Council and other councils along the coast here are preparing their applications.''

A spokesman for NSW emergency services minister Mike Gallacher told AAP: ''The SES will conduct assessments as they are able to access the areas affected.

''Then that will inform the minister's declaration.''

In low-lying parts of Lawrence, downstream from the NSW town of Grafton, residents were on alert to flee in another day of weather chaos.

Motorists ignored warning signs to drive into floodwaters, as torrential rain, hail and savage storms battered Queensland's southeast.

Swiftwater rescue teams in southeast Queensland carried out six retrievals, prompting emergency services to voice frustration that people were still not heeding warnings against entering flooded roads.

"People are not using their common sense," said Gold Coast emergency responder Ray Ware.

A man caught in floodwaters at Morayfield, north of Brisbane, clung to a fence until rescuers reached him by inflatable boat. Another three had to be led to safety from their immersed car at Mudgeeraba on the Gold Coast, while others abandoned a vehicle sinking in rising waters near Somerset Dam, west of Brisbane.

Separately, State Emergency Service crews answered 257 calls, mainly to help with leaking or flooded homes. Two-thirds of these were on the Gold Coast, which took the brunt of the heavy rain yesterday. More than 90mm fell in an hour on its hinterland.

The D'Aguilar Highway was cut at Kilcoy, inland of the Sunshine Coast and dozens of smaller roads closed around Brisbane.

Water continued to be discharged from Brisbane's flood shield, Wivenhoe Dam, as it absorbed run-off from the adjoining Somerset Dam. This was due to affect areas at Twin Bridges, Savages Crossing and College roads today and tomorrow, but no urban flooding was anticipated, dam managers said.

Parts of Brisbane's D'Aguilar National Park have been closed temporarily for safety reasons following small landslides and local flooding.

The Department of Education says that so far three schools have closed because of rising floodwaters on the Sunshine and Gold coasts. Although the rain has eased, more than 165mm has been recorded on the Sunshine Coast and 146mm at Bribie Island since 9am on Thursday.

Bureau of Meteorology senior forecaster Brett Harrison said the worst was almost over for southeast Queensland, but the monsoonal trough that dumped more than 100mm of rain on Gulf communities in the state's far northwest would drift south, bringing heavy falls and damaging winds to the central interior.

In northern NSW, emergency crews used helicopters and boats to resupply isolated properties while residents prepared for the flooding to intensify.

Joseph Corowa helped his mate, John Anderson, to move belongings as water coursed beneath Mr Anderson's home at Lawrence, about 520km north of Sydney.

"This is my second flood in three years," Mr Anderson said.

At the Lawrence General & Liquor Store, owner Diny McFarlane, who grew up in The Netherlands, said she knew how to handle floods. When the water rises she calls each day at 10am and 3pm to arrange for supplies to be delivered by boat from the end of a nearby road.

"Some people pay a lot for water views," she joked, watching the ripples lap her bottom steps.

Others were less prepared. Council worker Rick O'Connor said he saw an unmoored boat float up a creek earlier in the day.

The NSW SES has so far performed 45 flood rescues.

http://www.theaustralian.com.au/news/nation/chaos-as-monsoon-storm-...

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NSW communities count cost of flooding

Communities across northern NSW are assessing widespread damage to homes and roads on Saturday as easing weather conditions have led to floodwaters receding for the first time in five days.

But dire weather forecasts have emergency services braced for another possible round of inundations from Sunday, prompting local councils to call for urgent state government financial assistance.

"Things are getting back to normal and now it's just a case of getting around and cleaning up," Tweed Shire mayor Barry Longland told AAP.
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Authorities were on Saturday monitoring a monsoon weather pattern moving south from Queensland and predicted to cross northern NSW early on Sunday.

Mr Longland said Tweed Shire Council, like other local authorities across the region, will ask the NSW government to declare a natural disaster zone, unlocking more funding for recovery work.

"We've got to make an assessment of the extent of the damage and try and put some sort of dollar figure on it," Mr Longland added.

Bellingen mayor Mark Troy added: "There will be significant damage to our road network."

"We are really hopeful that we will see a natural disaster declaration out of this."

Coffs Harbour mayor Keith Rhoades said his city escaped severe damage, partly because it had learned from previous floods with efficient sandbagging.

A spokesman for NSW emergency services minister Mike Gallacher said the government would wait for damage assessments to be completed, possibly on Monday or Tuesday, before declaring any disaster zones.

State Emergency Service spokesman Phil Campbell told AAP a monsoon weather pattern will move into northern NSW sometime on Sunday with potential for some heavy rain.

"Then there's the potential for a third weather system to come through later in the week that may deliver some rain both to the inland and possibly coastal regions," he added.

Swollen river systems began flooding communities between Taree and the Queensland border on Tuesday after days of heavy rain.

The SES said fewer than 2500 people were still isolated on Saturday afternoon - down from 12,000 on Friday evening.

There have been 54 rescues since the flooding began, the most recent of which occurred in Murwillumbah and Coffs Harbour.

There were also two rescues in Broken Hill, in the state's far west, after a severe thunderstorm caused flash flooding.

http://news.smh.com.au/breaking-news-national/nsw-communities-count...

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Family rescued in Qld flooding

Northwest Queensland is recovering after a night of torrential rain, with one family spending the night trapped between two rising creeks.

Authorities were alerted to the family of six's predicament 100km south of Cloncurry off the Landsborough Highway at 1.30am (AEST) on Saturday, a Department of Community Safety spokeswoman said.

Rescuers were hampered by floodwater and severe weather before a truck driver finally managed to get the family to safety later on Saturday morning.

Four other cars became stuck in floodwater at Bargara, Moore Park, Banana and Julia Creek, but the occupants were able to get to safety before swift water rescuers arrived.

Northwest Queensland received heavy downpours overnight, generated by a slow-moving monsoonal low which resulted in falls of up to 200mm in 24 hours.

Cloncurry has recorded a whopping 196mm of rain since 9am (AEST) on Friday and Greta, north of Mt Isa, copped the heaviest falls with 200mm in the same period.

The weather system is forecast to move south over central western Queensland on Saturday, and down into southern Queensland on Sunday.

The central towns of Winton, Longreach, Blackall, Charleville, Roma and Windorah are on alert for heavy rain and flash flooding, with falls in excess of 150mm over 24 hours likely.

Residents of Roma who were on flood alert this morning are breathing a sigh of relief after expected overnight downpours did not materialise.

Maranoa Mayor Robert Loughlin said the Bungil Creek peaked at 5.8m, well down on the bureau's prediction.

He said the district's disaster management committee was monitoring the low pressure system which was expected to hit the town on Saturday night and Sunday morning.

'If it comes through we need to be ready for possible high winds and very heavy rainfall up to 150mm,' he told AAP.

Conditions in the sodden southeast have improved after the deluges that hammered the region for much of the week.

The Bureau of Meteorology says light rain will continue on Sunday with a possible heavier fall in the evening.

http://www.skynews.com.au/national/article.aspx?id=712398&vId=

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Indonesia:

Rain and Rob, Semarang submerged

28/01/2012 10:52
Liputan6.com, Semarang: A number of areas in Semarang, Central Java, on Saturday (28 / 1), flood. Flooding occurred after the rain Semarang several times a day, accompanied tidal seawater or rob.

At one school, the water soaking the whole room on the first floor, including classrooms. Learning activities had to be done with legs submerged.

While in the settlement area, flooding disrupted the activities of people make. Arbitrarily activities should be carried out in the siege of flooding.

While on the highway, the road users no choice but to bypass the puddle of water although it could result in the demise of the vehicle engine. (Bog