MORE than 500mm of rain fell in the Rosewood and surrounding areas causing roads to close, dam banks to break, bridges to flood and schools to close across the region
The rain began on Wednesday, February 23 and continued through to Monday, February 28.
As the rainfall continued with few breaks, gullies and creeks flooded and the first alerts were issued on Friday afternoon with residents asked to avoid all non-essential travel as floodwaters began to inundate roads and bridges.
The heavy rain continued stranding people in their homes in Rosewood and surrounding districts.
By the weekend, more than 1,000 road closures took place across the South East Queensland region and among these were the roads leading in and out of Rosewood, Marburg, Mount Walker and Thagoona.
The days of unrelenting rain were described by residents as one of the worst flooding events that they had witnessed since the devastating 2011 floods that left a severe impact on the community.
Robert John lives in Rosewood’s Railway Street. He awoke on Saturday morning to find water over his driveway and on the road.
“I was prepared for excessive rain this weekend as the Bureau of Meteorology warnings were present for days before, but I was not prepared for the rain that continued to fall all weekend,” he said.
“It was just how slow moving the rain was when we looked on the BoM radar, and how the rain fell so heavy and for such a long period of time, that was unbelievable.
“Looking around the main street and at local waterways was concerning to me because the rain was so persistent and the flooding was everywhere.”
The Rosewood Detention Basin was of major concern as it was reported to have been spilling with the chance of causing major flooding in streets such as Matthew, Berlin and John Street.
Residents in Marburg were also on high alert as the town’s detention basin was also at capacity and was at risk of flooding Main, Queen and other streets.
The usual weekend meeting places for families such as skate bowls, parks and sporting fields all suffered the impact of the downpour with some areas totally unrecognisable as they were covered in water.
A Queensland Fire and Emergency Services spokesperson said on Sunday afternoon Fire and Rescue Service and swift water crews had attended to almost 450 incidents in the area since the event began, including more than 200 incidents since 3pm on Saturday.
