FLOOD CHAOS
Roads cut, towns inundated and people rescued as wild weather smashes region
LOCKYER Valley residents face a long and muddy clean up after floodwater cut through Laidley early Friday morning, catching many off guard before they had time to lay sandbags.
Queensland Fire and Emergency Services swift water crews were also called to multiple rescues as alerts sounded.
Water cut access to hundreds of roads across the region, including the Warrego Highway at Glenore Grove.
The Lockyer Valley, like most of southeast Queensland, has been saturated by a week of steady rain.
While the cloudy skies will linger into next week, the Bureau of Meteorology has forecast only light showers.
LAIDLEY residents are waking up to the sight of mudstained walls and streets lined with debris after a fast-moving flood carved a path of destruction through the Lockyer Valley town yesterday.
Business owner Kelly Makey was stranded in her home for most of the day waiting nervously until she could get back to Laidley’s main street to see what kind of damage was done to two stores she owned.
“We own MCM Hair and Beauty and unfortunately the water is halfway through the salon,” she said.
“How much damage has been done, we don’t know.
“We also own FPC Plaza, and for now it’s high and dry providing the rain holds off.”
Laidley was hit by a surge of floodwater that washed down from Mulgowie before daybreak on Friday.
Ms Makey said she had received a call about 3am that her business would go under so she rushed to Patrick Street and started sandbagging.
“The message said the Mulgowie Creek had broken its banks. When that happens, we know we are in trouble,” she said.
The Elders Real Estate branch is underwater along with the Old Britannia Hotel and the Lockyer Feed Shed.
Ms Makey said she suspected plenty of homes would also have water through them.
“One thing I will say is that the community has really come together,” she said.
“We had plenty of business owners and their families helping move stuff and fill sandbags.”
Sadly they only had a few hours to prepare before the floodwater hit.
“As a business owner there is a huge financial and emotional hit,” Ms Makey said.
“We have to clean up and get the electricians in, then there is the headache from the insurers and whatever games they play. Our focus is our staff. We need to get the business back on track because they rely on us.”
While Ms Makey was able to lay a few sandbags, not everyone could respond in time.
Letesha Dean owns Lockyer Feed Shed and won’t get to
Our focus is our staff. We need to get the business back on track because they rely on us.
Kelly Makey
her business until the roads clear.
Instead she has to rely on videos and photos shared on social media to guess at how badly affected her store is.
“Luckily we have a few staff in town, and they were able to put some on the feed up on pallet shelves,” she said.
“But whatever was down low will be lost. They only had about a 30 minute warning.”
It is a stressful time for the young businesswoman who has owned the feed store for less than a year.
“This has been quite stressful,” she said.
“We can’t really do much about it though, but if we can get through this we can get anything.”
Malcolm Smith lives on Drayton Street near the Narda Lagoon, and he said he wasn’t surprised that the main street went under water so quickly.
“The force of the water is punishing,” he said.
“I don’t think there will be much bitumen left on Drayton Street after all this is done.”
The water from Mulgowie passed Mr Smith’s home on its way downstream and through Laidley’s CBD. While there was plenty of force behind the water, Mr Smith said already it had been showing signs of falling at 10am yesterday.
“The Mulgowie Creek broke its bank at 3am and that water takes about six hours to get to us,” he said.
The Lockyer Valley, like most of southeast Queensland, has been saturated by a week of steady rain.
The cloudy skies will remain for much of next week with the Bureau of Meteorology forecasting a maximum of 10mm of rain each day.
While it might not sound like much, the bureau is warning residents that the constant showers will affect how long it takes for floodwater to move through the creeks and rivers.
Drier times will be welcomed by Grantham residents who feared they were in for a repeat of February’s flood that cut the town off for two days and inundated homes and businesses.
Resident Greg van Zelst said the ground was soaked but as long as the water kept moving the town’s homes should stay dry.
“(Yesterday) we could drive under the rail bridge, and I was able to get into town to get some supplies,” he said.
“The creeks are getting higher, but it is not until they are backed up that we have a problem.”
Grantham residents are on alert and have already teamed up to disassemble the Pacific Petroleum fuel bowsers and empty its shelves and fridges.
“We did it in about three hours,” Mr van Zelst said.
“Last time it flooded it cost the store about $30,000 to replace each bowser.
“But no one is celebrating yet because there is still a lot of water to come down from the Sunshine Coast,” Mr van Zelst said.