Chaos as Brisbane abandoned for higher ground

A New Zealander living in Brisbane described the city as total chaos yesterday as people were evacuated and others rushed home ahead of expected flooding.

Briar McEwan, 21, was evacuated from her workplace in the CBD after midday and from her home, which is not far from the city.

"It was complete madness. Everyone was driving home in a rush and the roads were total chaos, people were driving three deep in a single lane. Everyone was panicking as they tried to get out of the city. It became a ghost town."

Miss McEwan yesterday packed up her belongings and headed for higher ground. She said her house would probably be covered in water because they were expecting more heavy rain late last night.

"The worst thing is that it won't stop raining," she said. "But this is only just the beginning, it's going to get really, really bad soon."

Auckland man Sam Porter living in Brisbane suburb New Farm - which was yesterday issued a severe flood warning - could not believe how quickly the river was flowing.

"It can only be described as a freight train. The speed it's moving and the sheer power of the water is incredible. I've never seen anything like it. It's quite intimidating."

He said the murky brown water was littered with debris with trees, buildings and household items.

Aucklander Lauren Penrose, 21, living on the Sunshine Coast, said locals had been stocking up on food in case they could not get to the supermarket in the next few days.

The Sunshine Coast had not been hit as badly by the deluge, but it was in complete chaos and roads had been flooded, she said.

"It's a weird atmosphere at the moment because everyone seems to just be dealing with it ...

"There are people there who are watching their lives being washed away but they seem so casual about it - they're like, 'Well we've got to save as much stuff as we can, and the other stuff, we've just got to let go'. They've been so strong about it."

Miss Penrose said they were expecting 100mm an hour of rain every day for the next five days, and about 140 roads had been closed which had stopped many people getting to work.

"It's meant to be high tide soon and then it's going to be huge.

"The roads will all be flooded and the rivers will be covered because they're looking at a four to five metre tide."

The floods have not stopped the Sunshine Coast police from handing out fines. Miss Penrose was given a A$300 ($390) fine yesterday when she stopped her car at the flood water to call her partner to see if it was safe to cross it.

"He said he gave me a ticket because it was a life-endangering offence, but I would be risking my own life to go through that flood water."

She said snakes had been floating down the street after being displaced by the floods.

"The streets are like a zoo because all the wildlife is trying to get out as well."

Jade Morrison, a New Zealand woman living in Mooloolaba, said ants were crawling through her house, trying to escape the water which had been rising and falling in her backyard for the past week.

"The water in my backyard is about one inch away from my sliding door and it's still raining now," she said last night. "I can't go in my backyard and I don't want to open my back door.

"It's been raining consistently for the last month."

Canals in the tourist town were overflowing and the sea was brown.

Residents were watching the news, waiting to hear if they were being evacuated, she said.

Thunder and lightning had become a part of daily life.

"It sounds like you're living near a train station, it goes for a long time and it's just so loud."

Expat Kristine Bacon said she was lucky she lived in an apartment because the floods would not affect her.

She said the thunder and lightning had been terrifying people.

Ms Bacon said there was a real spirit of camaraderie.