7 of 10 TILTING; Australia: Motorists rescued as NSW floodwaters rise again!! Central QLD town are being evacuated as floodwater rises!! Floodwaters are rising in south-western Queensland!

Australia TILTING and BACKWASHING:

/ Motorists rescued as NSW floodwaters rise again. Heavy rain has brought more flooding to northern New South Wales, with two people rescued from swollen inland waterways this morning. /

/ Charleville braces as floodwaters rise. Hospital patients and nursing home residents in a central Queensland town are being evacuated by helicopter as floodwater rises and more rain threatens."It's very high now in parts, it's starting to enter the low-lying parts of town now," he said. "I just went and had another look and it's rising very quickly, which means I think it might hit the peak before that," he said. /

/ Authorities say floodwaters are rising in south-western Queensland, with a peak in Charleville expected late this afternoon or evening. /

Australia:

Motorists rescued as NSW floodwaters rise again

Heavy rain has brought more flooding to northern New South Wales, with two people rescued from swollen inland waterways this morning.

The Bureau of Meteorology has issued a fresh flood watch for many rivers inland and along the north and mid-north coasts.

The State Emergency Service's controller for the Namoi region, Kath Cain says the two rescues this morning came after heavy falls.

"We've had reports of up to 300 millimetres of rain around the Brigalow Creek area, out near Cuttabri and towards Pilliga," Ms Cain said.

"We've had one person who managed to get through one creek this morning and then couldn't get any further, so he was stranded between two creeks.

"We've also had one person who drove around a road closed sign on the Old Bingara Road. They got bogged, so that person has also been rescued."

The SES has renewed its advice for people not to enter flooded causeways or creeks.

The weather bureau says there is a 70 per cent chance of moderate to major flooding in the Gwydir, Bellinger, Nambucca and Macleay valleys.

An SES spokesman for the Oxley region, Steve Hart, says door-knocking has begun to warn residents living along the Lower Macleay.

"Especially to the farmers, we're just asking them to monitor the weather system," Mr Hart said.

"If they've relocated some of their livestock from last week's event, if they can hold off moving everything back in at this stage.

"Let's just see over the next 48 hours what does happen."

Late yesterday the New South Wales Government declared a natural disaster across five local councils in the state's north.

The Emergency Services Minister Mike Gallacher extended the declaration across the Bellingen, Byron, Kyogle, Lismore and Richmond Valley local government areas.

The move unlocks assistance for residents, businesses and farmers to recover from the flooding.

Today Mr Gallacher said more more declarations are likely, as reports have not yet come through from some of the hardest-hit areas.

"There is a good possibility that I'll be declaring the Tweed Valley a natural disaster area, today in fact," Mr Gallacher said.

"I expect that report will be put to me this afternoon. I haven't seen anything finalised in relation to Grafton, but there's no doubt, as the flood waters recede and as councils are in a position to get around to look at bridges and other infrastructure, it will become evident that this was a significant rain event."

http://www.abc.net.au/news/2012-01-31/motorists-rescued-as-nsw-floo...

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Charleville braces as floodwaters rise

Hospital patients and nursing home residents in a central Queensland town are being evacuated by helicopter as floodwater rises and more rain threatens.

Two Charleville Hospital patients and 16 high-care nursing home residents were being flown to Brisbane on Tuesday afternoon, the state government said.

The town is bracing for the river to peak at 2.9m at Bradleys Gully on Tuesday.

Nearby residents have voluntarily evacuated, Emergency Management Queensland said.

Auto repairs shopowner Karen McLennan, whose business is beside Bradleys Gully, said there was about six inches of water through her shop at 3pm (AEST).

"We lifted everything up as much as we could and we've taken out what we can and we've just left ourselves," she said.

Ms McLennan said there were about four shops on the block that had been affected by floodwater.

The last time the area had flooded was March 2010, she said.

"At this stage it looks like it's flooding every two years," she said.

"You get sick of it, but that's it.

"It would cost us too much to move."

Charleville Chamber of Commerce president Paul Paynter said residents had been told the river would peak at three metres at 5pm (AEST).

"It's very high now in parts, it's starting to enter the low-lying parts of town now," he said.

"I just went and had another look and it's rising very quickly, which means I think it might hit the peak before that," he said.

http://news.smh.com.au/breaking-news-national/charleville-braces-as...

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Charleville braces for flood

Authorities say floodwaters are rising in south-western Queensland, with a peak in Charleville expected late this afternoon or evening.

Bradley's Gully, which runs through the town, reached almost two metres at 2:00pm and is forecast to reach three metres.

At that level, about 40 homes and businesses would be affected.

Murweh Mayor Mark O'Brien says Queensland Health relocated 46 residents from the Waroona nursing home earlier today as a precaution.

"I believe 16 of those have been flown to other destinations and the rest are going to their own evacuation centre up at the racecourse complex," he said.

The weather bureau says there will be no let-up in the storms and rain battering much of the state's flooded interior.

It has issued a severe thunderstorm warning for several centres including Roma, Longreach, Winton, Proserpine and Bowen.

The warning also covers Charleville.

Senior forecaster Brett Harrison says heavy rain is expected in the area for the next couple of days.

"There's a good chance of seeing an average of 50 to maybe 100 millimetres over a pretty wide area and some isolated falls up around the 150 millimetre mark - that's for a 24-hour period, and expecting it for at least a couple of days," he said.

Jess Carey from the Flood Warning Centre says more rain in the area could add to the threat.

"If the rainfall falls sort of within the catchment or on top of Charleville itself, it's certainly going to worsen the situation," she said.

"Nothing significant has been recorded since 9:00am ... but we will be watching it very closely and there's a lot of eyes on the situation so I suppose everyone can rest assured that we will be on top of it if the situation changes.
Levee removed

The local disaster management group this morning said the council had taken immediate action to remove a temporary levee to allow floodwater from the Bradley's Gully to flow into the Warrego River.

The group said the levels were not expected to be as high as they were in 2010 where hundreds of homes were flooded when the gully peaked at four metres.

The Charleville Showgrounds pavilion will be open as an evacuation centre.

Police Inspector Mick Dowie say they are assisting residents to prepare for evacuations if necessary.

"We are preparing for water through the town to a similar level to 2008," he said.

"Obviously people are anxious - they've been through this before. As much as we say everyone is resilient out here, it is a scary prospect having water through your home.

"People are still trying to recover from the 2010 events so we are doing what we can to mitigate it."

St Mary's Catholic Primary School was closed and Education Queensland (EQ) said the Charleville State School was also closed as a precaution.
Floods in Charleville Photo: Streets flooded: Floodwaters lap at the entrance to a garage in Charleville. (Audience submitted: Karen Tully)

Downstream preparations

Emergency workers were also preparing to sandbag homes at Surat, south of Roma in the state's southern inland.

Surat is preparing for the Balonne River to hit 10.4 metres, although it is unlikely to inundate homes.

The Paroo River at the tiny town of Eulo, west of Cunnamulla, is still rising and expected to peak at major flood levels tomorrow.

Four homes have been evacuated as a precaution and authorities say they are hoping the river does not exceed the 2010 flood level.

Paroo Mayor Jo Sheppard says locals in Eulo, which has a population of 50, are ready for a major flood.

Major flood peaks are also expected in the towns of Thallon, Nindigully, Fenton, Dirranbandi and St George later in the week, as flows from the Moonie and Condamine-Balonne system move south.

Sunwater, the operator of Beardmore Dam near St George, is releasing 30,000 megalitres of water after the dam hit capacity on Sunday.

They say local authorities have been advised and the release is being closely watched.

Bulloo Mayor John Ferguson says floodwaters from Eulo are also expected to cause major flooding downstream at the border town of Hungerford later this week.

He says at Thargomindah, locals are also getting in extra supplies in anticipation of being cut off for some time.
North-west

In north-west Queensland, major flood levels are also occurring in the Flinders and Cloncurry Rivers.

The Flinders Highway remains closed between Julia Creek and Cloncurry.

Police say there is still about a metre of water over the road at channels west of Julia Creek and it will be tomorrow at the earliest before authorities can inspect it.

Authorities are preparing to resupply Burketown in the Gulf, which has been isolated for almost a week.

Burke Mayor Annie Clarke says delays in mail may also cause problems for education, with many isolated families working through the new national curriculum via School of the Air.