A Queensland woman almost suffocated inside her tent after it began filling with water as a camping holiday turned into her worst nightmare.
Madelene had been camping in Numinbah in the Gold Coast hinterland earlier this week when she became trapped inside her tent – which had been picked up and carried 40 metres downstream by surging floodwaters.
She was able to make a lucky escape after neighbours found her trapped against a fallen tree and used an axe to cut her out of the flooded tent.
Madelene has spoken out about her nightmare camping experience after flooding
‘I got swept away in my tent 40 meters down a river, then trapped by a fallen tree, started suffocating and tent was filling with water.
‘Had to be rescuded by our camp neighbours cutting me out with an axe!
‘Lost all my belongings but grateful to be alive… happy new year,’ she wrote alongside footage of the rising floodwaters on social media.
It comes as flood-weary residents in Queensland’s southeast will prepare for yet another round of severe rain and thunderstorms on Wednesday.
n Defence Force troops have been deployed across the state to help with recovery efforts while authorities try to restore power to about 11,000 homes.
Hundreds of flood-damaged Queensland roads also remain closed and continuing heavy rain means an increased potential for landslides and fallen debris.
Dozens of people have been rescued from flood waters since the wet and wild conditions began over Christmas and Boxing Day.
Madelene had been camping in the Gold Coast hinterland with a friend when she awoke to find she was trapped inside her tent – which was filling up fast with brown floodwaters
Swathes of ‘s east coast will continue to be lashed by wild weather off the back of a week-long battering of storms and heavy rain (pictured, a park on the Gold Coast on Monday)
Flood-weary residents in Queensland’s southeast will prepare for another round of severe rain and thunderstorms on Wednesday (pictured, the swollen Coomera river on the Gold Coast)
The heaviest falls were at the border between NSW and Queensland, inland and southern NSW and much of Victoria (pictured, a satellite image of the weather on Wednesday)
Although the Bureau of Meteorology says the worst of the wild weather has moved on, heavy to intense rain is likely across most of Queensland on Wednesday, while conditions will remain hazardous long after rain eases.
‘Our thunderstorm forecast shows just how unstable the areas are over eastern , with thunderstorms possible pretty much everywhere except for Tasmania,’ Bureau meteorologist Miriam Bradbury
A severe weather warning was cancelled on Tuesday evening despite rain continuing on the Sunshine Coast, however flood warnings remain current.
Areas such as Gympie, Caboolture, Noosa Heads and Maroochydore are expected to receive high localised falls on Wednesday.
The bureau has issued a flood watch for Byron Bay, Bundaberg, Gympie, Roma, Rockhampton and Toowoomba with residents urged to take care near creeks, rivers and drains were conditions remain hazardous.
Further south, storms and flooding in northern NSW have also kept emergency services working overtime.
A cluster of communities received more than a month’s worth of rain in the 48 hours to Tuesday evening, with some areas in the Northern Rivers region copping falls of more than 500mm.
In the 48 hours to 9am on Tuesday, Numinbah in the Tweed Shire received 533mm while Bald Mountain in eastern NSW was drenched with 532mm.
The SES said local crews had completed 28 rescues during the period.
Forecasters have warned more falls are on the way.
Areas such as Gympie, Caboolture, Noosa Heads and Maroochydore are expected to receive high localised falls on Wednesday (pictured, a park underwater at Mudgeeraba)
Forecast accumulated rain during the 24 hours ending at 4am AEST on Wednesday
‘Moisture is moving south with the risk of severe storms increasing through parts of NSW and much of Victoria,’ Bureau of Meteorology forecaster Miriam Bradbury said.
The meteorologist said the heaviest falls were at the border between NSW and Queensland, inland and southern NSW and much of Victoria.
Severe thunderstorms are headed towards central Victoria on Wednesday before becoming widespread over the eastern half of the state.
The bureau says there’s the potential for heavy falls, large hail and damaging winds. Melbourne can expect showers and likely a thunderstorm, possibly a severe one.
Lightning stopped flights at the city’s airport on Tuesday evening and almost 50,000 homes and businesses across the state were left without power.
Up to 9,000 homes were still without power on Wednesday morning with Ballarat and Wangaratta receiving more than half a metre of rain in 48 hours.
The SES received over 900 calls for help, with many waking up on Wednesday morning still in need of assistance from rescue crews.
Dozens of homes and businesses have been damaged by the powerful storms, which saw hail rain down across the state and trees fall.
Hundreds of flood-damaged Queensland roads also remain closed and continuing heavy rain means an increased potential for landslides and fallen debris (pictured, a park in Mudgeeraba)
Glenis from Beaudesert takes a photograph of the Coomera river on the Gold Coast
Residents in Melbourne are urged to pack an umbrella on Wednesday, with a very high chance of showers and a possibly severe thunderstorm.
Temperatures will reach highs of 25C and lows of 18C.
The wild weather is expected to move up the NSW coast on Thursday, with inland areas to receive some reprieve after major rainfall on Wednesday.
In Sydney, Wednesday will remain cloudy with tops of 27C and lows of 21C with a slight chance of a shower in the outer west in the afternoon or evening.
In Western , a trough of low pressure and a very hot, unstable atmosphere is triggering severe thunderstorms in the interior.
Severe thunderstorms were predicted to deliver damaging winds above 90 km/hour in Giles, Kiwirrkurra, Parnngurr and Warburton, west of Alice Springs.
Footage shared on social media showed a Queensland driver stranded and sitting on the roof of their car surrounded by floodwaters (pictured)
Meanwhile, Darwin has recorded its warmest start to the year since 1935.
The temperature at Darwin Airport on Monday morning only dropped to 29.9C – the city’s hottest January morning since 1933 and its third highest January minimum temperature on record.
Daytime maximums reached highs of 35.3C on Monday and 35.5C on Tuesday, making this the hottest first two days of a year since 1935.
Tuesday was also Darwin’s hottest January day in eight years.