24 March 2021
The Southern Downs Local Disaster Management Group (LDMG) has moved to STAND UP level as Council continues to respond to rising water levels and road closures across the region.
Council operated the LDMG overnight from its offices in Warwick as it monitored the unfolding weather situation and kept the community updated on any developments via the Disaster Dashboard on Council’s website.
As new advice became available overnight from the Bureau of Meteorology, Council coordinated with the SES to door knock potential flood affected homes in Warwick and later on in the evening an emergency alert was issued for Leyburn.
At approximately 9pm on Tuesday 23 March 2021, the Canal Creek in Leyburn was expected to reach minor to moderate flood level and the first tier of emergency communications was activated.
This response included 46 voice messages via mobile which were successfully received by 30 devices, as well as 318 SMS messages sent and successfully received by 230.
The situation did not require the emergency siren to alarm as flooding was deemed at a minor level as reported by the Bureau of Meteorology’s predictive modelling. The alarm is only activated in a catastrophic event when it is critical to have the community move to higher ground immediately.
As at 9:30am on 24 March the Condamine River in Warwick is holding steady at 6.5m and the OO Madsen Bridge remains open. The LDMG is closely monitoring the situation in consultation with BoM and will inform the community via the Disaster Dashboard and other Council owned channels should the situation change.
Current Road Closures
A number of roads across the region are currently impacted by the rain and an updated road closure information can be found on Council’s website at: http://disasterdashboard.sdrc.qld.gov.au/.
Council has crews are out installing signage, monitoring conditions around bridges and reporting back to the LDMG with speed and efficiency. However the community should not enter flood waters even if signs are not yet installed and Council encourages residents to use the ‘Fix It’ tab on the My SDRC App to report any issues on roads in the Southern Downs.
Council wishes to advise residents that as flood waters recede, roads will have some flood damaged that will be addressed as time permits.
Dam Level Update
Significant inflow was received overnight into all three dams, specifically resulting in both Storm King Dam and Connolly Dam reaching 100% capacity. Council’s website has been updated this morning at: https://www.sdrc.qld.gov.au/living-here/water-wastewater/dam-levels
Remember: IF IT’S FLOODED - FORGET IT.
Please ensure that you don't drive through flood waters.
You can stay up-to-date by checking in with:
If you need emergency assistance:
- Life-threatening emergency - 000
- SES - 132 500