ST GEORGE residents breathed a collective sigh of relief last night as the Balonne River peaked about 13.5m, sparing the town from major devastation.
Twenty-four homes were flooded and 40 families remained at the evacuation centre.
But while the threat eased in St George – after fears water levels would exceed 14m – more outback towns were warned to prepare for flooding this week.
Floodwaters are continuing to head for Cunnamulla, 825km west of Brisbane.
The western Queensland community remains on 24-hour flood watch as the Warrego River continues to rise. It was 9.95m at the Cunnamulla Bridge at 6am today and is continuing to rise.
It is only a matter of hours before water floods the bridge.
A temporary levee bank has been created across the eastern end of the bridge and will be blocked off once the bridge is flooded.
Theodore, in central Queensland, and Hungerford, Eulo and Dirranbandi, in the state's southwest, could be swamped today, as water from swollen rivers continues downstream.
Authorities warned that Theodore could be inundated by floodwater levels not seen since 1983, with the local river expected to peak around 13.2m.
Evacuation centres have been established at the Theodore State School and Theodore Hotel in preparation for the flood's arrival.
Downstream from St George, residents of Hungerford, Eulo and Dirranbandi were warned to prepare for several days of isolation.
The Paroo River is expected to peak about 6m today, isolating the small township of Eulo, west of Cunnamulla.
Darcy Washington is one of many incredible stories of luck and survival coming from the region, having to spend a night in a tree after floodwaters swamped his ute last Tuesday night.
Mr Washington was 80km from St George on the Moonie Highway when his ute stalled in rising water.
"There was water gushing down from the hills and it washed me and the ute off the road. There was just no stopping her," he said.
"It was a bit scary, just like you see in movies, me trying to get out the window and the water coming in."
Mr Washington managed to scramble out a window, grabbed a torch as he went and then grabbed hold of a tree branch.
"I had to sleep in the trees. The water was dragging me one way and the ute another."
On Wednesday morning, a farmer on a tractor organised a boat from a neighbour's property to rescue Mr Washington.
But the Hughes family of Autumnvale Station, north-east of Thargomindah, were looking at the bright side – enjoying an "island" holiday without leaving home.
The family's homestead on the 33,000ha station was surrounded by water, with only levee banks protecting them from floodwaters.
"We're all on levee watch. If it comes over the levee we'll be in a lot of trouble," Andrew Hughes, 27, said.
EMQ estimated that about 300 homes had been affected in Charleville alone, with 65 SES volunteers deployed to Charleville and a further 19 to Roma to help clean up.
Emergency Management Queensland spokesman Mike Shapland said the state was not "out of the woods" yet, with communities in 17 local government areas isolated.
Emergency Services Minister Neil Roberts said the worst rainfall was over, with only scattered showers predicted for the flood-affected areas over the next two days.
But the next major problem could be a mosquito plague, with the flooding creating a massive breeding ground for the pests and sparking a mad rush for repellents.
Charleville's Murweh Shire Council will this week seek urgent assistance from Brisbane City Council to bring in heavy duty vector management equipment.
It will join with a string of southwest councils including those centred on St George, Roma, Cunnamulla and Quilpie in a pre-emptive strike against the pests.
While dengue fever is not a concern, Ross River Fever and Barmah Forest Virus are.
Prime Minister Kevin Rudd said the Federal Government would continue to provide support to the State Government through the national disaster relief and recovery arrangements.
Premier Anna Bligh will tour St George today.
Critique:
Our mother earth needs our attention! The weather is getting unusual recently. The continuous raining weather in Queensland increases the level of floodwaters day by day. This is no joke and a serious matter as the flash flood would lead to the loss of properties and even deaths. Subsequent effects arise like the dengue fever, Ross River Fever and Barmah Forest Virus. On the other hand, another example of natural disaster that happened last couple of days was the 8.8 scale earthquake in Chile. All of these provides us enough reason to love our one and the only earth. Save our planet people.
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