[ad_1]
A driver has been captured floating away in his Mercedes Benz in fast-moving waters as a flood emergency plays out in New South Wales and Queensland.
A bystander shared footage to 9 News, saying the man had been “singing out (for) help” as the sedan glided past.
At least four swift-water rescues were carried out in southeast Queensland on Sunday after more than 200mm of rain was recorded in some parts of the state.
Meanwhile, the NSW SES have rescued a five-month-old baby, as the flood disaster prompts thousands of calls to the organisation.
The Ryde Unit were called to rescue the child, alongside four adults and three dogs from a Londonderry property in the early hours of Monday in a “challenging but successful” operation.
The organisation posted the photo on Facebook, captioning it with “it doesn’t get much better for a volunteer than saving a beautiful little boy.”
Scores of people have been rescued from floodwaters around the state, including an 80-year-old woman who became trapped in her car at Wyong on the Central Coast on Sunday.
It’s understood police spotted the vehicle, half-submerged with the driver inside, while attending another incident.
An officer waded into the waters on foot and freed the woman moments before the car was pushed by fast-moving waters into the nearby flooding Wyong River.
Daniel Austin from NSW SES said there had been 2100 SES call-outs in the 24 hours to Monday morning, bringing the total from the past few days to almost 10,000.
“(We had) over 150 flood rescues overnight,” he told Today.
“I am a long way from saying we are out of the woods with this … The community needs to remain exceptionally vigilant, listen to the warnings, enact their own flood plans and people should be absolutely not driving through floodwaters.”
Heavy rain and flash-flooding in Queensland has prompted hundreds of calls to the SES, with the organisation responding to 300 calls from 4.30am Sunday to 8am Monday, mostly concentrated around the Gold Coast and Brisbane areas.
While many calls were in relation to leaking roofs, sandbag and tarp requests, four swift water rescues were carried out by Queensland Fire and Emergency Services.
Several people were rescued from flooded streets on the Gold Coast, including a woman stranded at Tallebudgera about midday.
QFES Commissioner Brian Cox said with the weather event expected to hang around for the next three days, people should not be complacent.
“We know that these storm events are going to hand around for the next three days. Yes, it might not be as intense as our NSW colleagues are feeling at the moment, but nonetheless quite dangerous,” he told Today.
Ten Queensland SES flood boats left on Sunday to help their NSW counterparts, as well as swift water rescue resources and crews, drones, and operators for rapid damage assessments, and incident management teams have also been sent.
[ad_2]
Source link
