 My name's Alistair Dawson and welcome to Kedron to the State Disaster Coordination Centre. I'll just give you a wrap over the last 24 hours about what's been going on in the southeast Queensland and as you know last night there was some fairly heavy rain in the southeast corner and we're expecting more heavy rain over the next 48 hours, mainly south of Bundaberg. So there has been some flash flooding in and around the Gimpy and Meribara areas and there is a constant watch on the heights of rivers and creeks in those areas. I can advise that Gimpy as the Meri River is currently at 13.84, is expected to still rise a little bit further and is anticipated that there could be up to 20 businesses affected by this rain. We are advised though that there are no residential areas at risk at this time but again that is dependent on the amount of rain that falls in the area. The Bruce Highway was reopened at Gimpy at 3am this morning but again could be closed today depending on the amount of rain and also the rapid rate of flash flooding. Meribara, the Meri River in Meribara is currently at 8.2 metres. We anticipate that to go to 8.4 metres. It was predicted yesterday to go to 9, that has been revised. There are currently and sadly three homes with water through the premises in Meribara and three businesses have water through the premises. The marina is affected and we are asking people that have boats in the Meri River in and around Meribara to go and check their boats if they wouldn't mind please. The LDNG, the local disaster management group, is meeting today at 3.30 this afternoon and has been monitoring the condition overnight and during the day. In Rockampton there are still 158 people in evacuation centres and sadly 400 homes still have water through the actual premises themselves and 150 businesses are also affected. The river is currently at 9.15 metres and is steady and we can confirm that the highway out of the north of Rockampton is open. That's the Bruce Highway. It is not considered that the water levels there will drop in the near future so we are still looking as predicted towards the end of the week. In Condamine there is a large number of people assisting the people of Condamine in cleaning the premises. There are 47 premises that have been cleaned to date but the Condamine River is expected to get some of the water from this rainfall and it is anticipated that the Condamine River will rise to 11 metres. In real terms this means that the bridge into Condamine will be closed at 10 metres however we are advised that there is still access via the township of Tara to Condamine. St George we are advised that the river or the flood waters around the town are currently at 13.2 metres and steady. It is anticipated that 13.4 metres is where they may peak. Again it will be an elongated peak so it will last for a few days before water starts to drop. We are advised that there are four houses that have water through the house. Four houses with water under the floorboards. Twenty yards have been inundated and currently 35 residents of St George are staying with family and friends. The waters around Deer and Bandy have reached 5.3 metres which we have been told is a new high for that area and the town is safe and is dry and all the resupply issues are being addressed. Yesterday three males were rescued from Mount Kilkoy by the AGL helicopter and we again are advised people about outdoor activities especially in such inclement conditions. So the rain predicted is due to last for another couple of days and we do ask people to take care whilst they are driving especially on roads that are subject to flash flooding and to check with the RACQ and also the Department of Transport and Main Road's websites before embarking on their journeys. One further message in regards to the road there has been significant damage caused to the roads around the state due to flooding. We are advising motorists that they should travel at a speed that is safe for the road conditions. That may mean travelling at a speed substantially lower than the speed limit that is posted for that road. You should allow extra time on your journey to cater for that and we would like people to show patience and consideration to other road users and also to the road work crews that are out there trying to repair the roads. I would like to pass over to Warren Bridgson from Emergency Management Queensland. Thank you. Good afternoon ladies and gentlemen. One of the major roles that Emergency Management Queensland has is to work with local disaster management groups every day about preparing their communities for what may happen to that community. There is no more important time than right now to do that because we have predictions again of some severe weather events happening in the South Burnett, the Sunshine Coast and perhaps down around Brisbane in the South East corner as well. So I would like to encourage communities to be very much aware of the predictions that have been given by the Bureau of Meteorology. If I can use the slogans we are using this current season particularly, it's about Tune In to Warnings. So we ask the communities out there to tune in your radio and television and listen to the warnings. If necessary and if you have the capability, log on to websites and check what the Bureau of Meteorology are saying about this severe weather prediction. Listen out to warnings that you may hear over your radio and television as well as the event unfolds and of course to take the necessary action and there is actions that need to be undertaken by community members now that the warnings have been issued. If you need further advice about what you need to do, what actions you need to take, log on to the websites, talk to your neighbour, ring your local council if necessary and ask what it is you need to do. You can always call the State Emergency Service on 132500 for further advice about what you need to do, what actions you need to take now that those severe weather warnings have been issued. We'd also like to impress upon our community people as well that now that it's time in some places to return back to the houses which were evacuated and now cleaned up to make sure that all of the safety precautions have been undertaken. This season has seen very severe weather events and heavy rain and we implore the community to listen to messages, listen to warnings but consider this. When you hear a Bureau of Meteorology warning for instance that you're likely to get 150 to 200 millimetres of rain balance that with the difference this year. This year is very different to the past. In the past that 150 to 200 millimetres of rain in your location may have met something but this year with all of the catchments primed, the river's already flooding that 200 millimetres of rain will mean something very different to you and you need to find out what that actually means. It could mean the difference between a minor flood and a major flood for instance. Thank you. No, at the moment we're not advised of any threat to the town. The people that are working in there obviously are doing a great job there. The threat is to the bridge which will probably close at about 10 metres but we have alternative access via Tara and there are 15 members of the New Zealand Emergency Services currently working in Conor Mine assisting the community. One of those things that's a way to see there may be more people? It is in so far as that dealing with the weather is a bit of a mystery I think for long forecasts. Obviously the closer it is to the event the more firmer the forecast can be. I think the other thing is also with hydrology we have been advised that we need the rain to start to fall so that we can then get the measurements that we need. So it is a bit of a moving feast in and around the Sunshine Coast. We're talking to the disaster district coordinators from Bundaburg all the way down to Logan and across to St George of Roma. So the purpose for that is to get an understanding of what's actually happening on the ground following the rain events. But at the moment there is localised flooding in those areas. Is this the situation that we're facing around that area that as the pool does rise quickly people really need to be aware that they need to get to higher ground? Especially that. So far as the rain falls are currently somewhere between 100 and 200 millimetres depending on where you are the waters will rise quickly. You may not be aware of that rise and you should actually be listening into the weather forecasts and checking the road conditions as well because it will rise quickly and those places which have gone under before especially on the road systems in that North Coast area could well flood again within an hour. So people need a flood plan? Well yeah they need to think about alternate ways to get from A to B. So if you are living in a particular area and you need to travel to another place you need to think about ways to get there that doesn't take you through low lying areas. But again if you don't need to travel and it's pouring rain then I would suggest that you stay off the roads because it is harder to see in heavy rain whilst driving a motor vehicle. Yes sir that's the message we want to give to the community through you people. Don't judge 150 millimetres of rain as you may have in the past. If the ground is so waterlogged the catchment is so primed the river is so full the creeks are all flooding then it will mean something more dramatic than it had in the past. I would suggest there's probably not complacency I think that this wet season is different to what we've been used to over the past number of years although we've been told for six months that this wet season was going to be quite severe it was going to be longer than normal and there would be much more rain than normal. So I think it's just new to a lot of people this amount of rain. I was actually based in St George in 1974. Do you remember was this like that La Nina? Yes very clear. I remember it vividly and I also clearly remember what the virology said about six months ago and that was this year is shaping up scientifically like 1974 did. But this is fair. People should be keeping aware in low lying areas of Brisbane that that's a real possibility. I'm not a technical expert on flooding but let me say that there's been lots of things happen since 1974 whether it be the construction of Ivanhoe Dam and many other things. I don't think we'll have another 74 but we could easily have flooding around this area, yes. So you're happy with the Bureau forecast? Have they been going? Yes. Extremely. They give us very good predictions they are able to give us long term suggestions of what they think the weather may be doing for us emergency managers and their forecast this season as far as I can remember back as well have been very good, yes. Very close to the money you think? Absolutely, yes. And these floods Meribarangipi, how do you sort of rate them a name minor or a million floods? Well they have various ratings for instance they obviously go from minor to moderate to major and so across that region at the moment we're hearing from the Bureau in certain places they are changing from moderate to major, for instance. Meribarangipi Over to you, do you know the letter? Sorry? Just mentioned that some of the floods were changing from moderate to major just need to be more concise Meribarangipi or Barangipi? I can get that for you, I don't have it right now but I can go to the BOM a warning we've just gotten Tony. They are getting the message which we're very grateful for because obviously the road toll is something that we're keeping very close eye on and it's the effect on families and communities that these tragedies affect the most. And so the reason we're putting this message out consistently is because we're getting heavy rain on top of flooded floods that have now cleared and so there is going to be debris, there is going to be some potholes. The amount of roadworks that needs to be done is beyond really, I suppose even what I can imagine but there is an enormous amount of work that needs to be done so we're just asking people to be very vigilant and to be careful because every life counts. Thank you very much indeed. Thank you.