Qld: Search resumes for missing woman in floodwaters
04 Apr 2009 9:36 AM
BRISBANE, April 4 AAP - A search has resumed for an elderly woman whose car was swept off a crossing on Queensland's Sunshine Coast during Thursday's flash floods.
Police and SES crews began scouring the area along Six Mile Creek near Kin Kin at 7.30am (AEST) on Saturday.
Police say the car was seen being swept away and carried downstream by strong floodwaters which were more than a metre high over the crossing at the time.
Because of the raging floods, emergency services couldn't get to the crossing until Friday afternoon.
As the water fell, the car was found about 500 metres downstream but the woman was not inside.
After steady falls overnight, the rain is easing and the weather bureau is predicting only showers for the rest of Saturday.
But more heavy rain is expected on Sunday.
Duty forecaster Ben Annells said there were only light falls along the coastal fringe overnight, with most of the rain in the Sunshine Coast hinterland.
"Noosa only had 2mm while areas around Steve Irwin's Australia Zoo averaged around 60mm," he said.
"There was 114mm at West Woombye and Nambour had 114 - so some reasonable falls a bit further away from the coast.
"We're expecting more showers to develop later on Saturday and another upper trough is expected on Sunday, but we shouldn't see the same deluges we had on Thursday.
"The lower level trough which intensified the rain then is weakening now," he said.
People around the worst hit area of Kin Kin are making the most of the easing rain to start cleaning up before they're hit by more rain.
Kin Kin publican Gary Ward told ABC Radio he had to ward off looters who turned up after his pub was hit by a two metre wall of water, but the Sunshine Coast police communications centre said there had been no official reports of looting in the wake of the floods.
Police said Kin Kin remained isolated with all roads either flooded or washed away.
