Evacuations in Australia’s Queensland as heavy rain triggers more than a dozen emergency alerts

Heavy rains have triggered emergency evacuation alerts in northeastern Australia’s Queensland as many residents have been hit by flooding for the second time in just a few months.

More than a dozen warnings were issued on Friday from North Burnett to the New South Wales border, urging residents to be ready to leave their homes.

“This rain is causing a lot of inundation,” Queensland premier Annastacia Palaszczuk said in Friday’s briefing, adding that several areas have been badly hit.

“This rainfall is not like the previous event, this is actually a bit more sporadic and it’s not as heavy, but we are still seeing some cases of flooding,” she added.

Eight evacuation centres are set to open in the region, Ms Palaszczuk said, adding that authorities were keeping an eye on rising water levels which have inundated bridges in recent days.

Roads have been covered by floodwater in several areas in Lockyer Valley, west of Brisbane, and a major highway was cut off entirely.

The rain is now moving from the state’s northern and western areas towards the highly-populated southern region, where Brisbane is located.

One woman was reported dead earlier this week after getting trapped in her car as water filled her vehicle amid intensifying flooding. About 300 homes in the region are expected to be affected.

A severe weather warning was issued for Queensland on Friday. However, it said, some areas will see rains receding in the coming hours.

This is the second time this year that Queensland is witnessing severe flooding.

Heavy rains in February had affected 800 homes and businesses. Many of the homes that are currently at the risk of flooding as water levels increase in the local Mary river have already been inundated this year.

Climate experts have said the increasing intensity and frequency of floods in Australia can be partly blamed on climate change.

A report from the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change also predicted that increased atmospheric and sea temperatures would lead to an increase in the intensity of storms.