Man, teen girl missing amid Qld floods

Marty Silk | January 11, 2022

Two people are missing in deadly floods in southeast Queensland and some communities are still isolated three days after more than half a metre of rain fell on the Wide Bay Burnett region.

Police are searching for a man and a teenage girl in the inundated region, where 22-year-old man was killed in floods triggered when the remnants of Cyclone Seth drenched the area on Friday and Saturday.

The 52-year-man went missing when he was out looking for stock with two female relatives near Tiaro, south of Gympie, on Tuesday morning.

“Unfortunately they got into strife and a male person, a 52-year-old male person, is currently missing,” Police Commissioner Katarina Carroll told reporters. 

“So we are also searching for that person. Can I please ask do not go into floodwaters don’t cross those causeways at all. The message is always: if it’s flooded, forget it. 

“Also don’t go into any flooded rivers at the moment, it is still flooding, and as you can see tragedy can strike at any time. So please don’t wander around into those waters until it completely subsides.”

Police also hold “grave concerns” for 14-year-old Krystal Cain who was last seen by her father after they abandoned their flooding car near the Burnett Hwy at Booubyjan in the early hours of Saturday morning.

Water police, divers, volunteers and helicopters have been scouring the flood plain for any sign of Krystal, but Ms Carroll said the search may eventually be scaled back.

“We have experts that advise on this, that people can only survive certain days,” she said. 

“It may be scaled down but certainly it has been extraordinary amount of searching going on for that child.”

Premier Annastacia Palaszczuk said 30 homes and 50 businesses have been damaged by floodwaters with the city of Maryborough hit the hardest.

A broken valve in the stormwater drain system allowed floodwater to bypass the city’s flood levee and surge up through the drains when the Mary River peaked at 9.96m on Monday night.

Police revoked an emergency declaration for Maryborough on Tuesday, but roads are closed and people are being warned to stay away from flood-affected areas after a number of flood rescues overnight.

Maryborough Mayor George Seymour said the Granville Bridge connecting the east and west parts of the city is significantly damaged, roads near Glewood have been destroyed and some communities remain isolated.

“There’s places we haven’t been able to access yet,” he said.

“I think there’ll be significant damage in places where you have 700mm of rain and in a day you’re going to have road damage.” 

Residents affected by the disaster will be able to access disaster grants of $180 for individuals and up to $900 for a family of five funding by the state and federal governments.

Low-interest loans of up $250,000 will be available for primary producers and small businesses impacted by the floods.