Tragedy as man, 54, is found dead in flood waters after his car vanished near creek
- Man was found in his car after it became stuck in floodwaters on Central Coast
A 54-year-old man has been found dead after his car became stuck in dangerous floodwaters.
Emergency services were called to Oak Road in Matcham on NSW’s Central Coast just after midnight on Friday following reports a car had vanished in the wild conditions.
A Toyota Land Cruiser was then found in floodwaters near the Maddens Creek crossing at about 1.30am with the man’s body inside.
Police have set up a crime scene and will investigate the circumstances behind the man’s death.
Sadly it’s just the latest death to come from the terrifying weather conditions that have wreaked havoc around NSW and Queensland.
Police found the body of another 54-year-old man whose motorcycle was found in floodwaters after he disappeared at Cedar Pocket near Gympie, two hours north of Brisbane early on Wednesday morning.
The area was flooded after it received over 300mm of rain in a six-hour period, with conditions described as ‘extremely horrific’ by a police spokesperson.
The body of Philip Gary Lambert, 54, was found at about 11.30am on Thursday after his helmet and bag were spotted earlier in a tree.
Acting Inspector Paul Algie said Mr Lambert had attempted to ride his motorbike over Greens Creek at 1.30am on Wednesday after finishing work.
‘As a result of riding into floodwater he has come off his motorcycle and has been washed away,’ Insp Algie said on Thursday.
On Wednesday morning a 63-year-old Belli Park woman was found dead inside a submerged vehicle west of Eumundi on the Sunshine Coast.
The death in Matcham comes after several areas on the Mid-North Coast and Central Coast were smashed with more than 100mm of rain in 24 hours.
Between 9am Thursday and 7am Friday, Bateau Bay recorded 116mm, Erina Heights 136mm, Mount Elliott 115mm, and Wamberal Reservoir 140mm and Gosford 136mm.
Further north, Bellingen recorded 173mm, Bowraville 112mm, Dorrigo 103mm, and Glennifer 135mm.
Torrential rain is expected to continue on the north coast of NSW on Friday as Sydney rounds out what is likely to be its wettest summer in three decades.
An offshore surface trough near the Queensland-NSW border is expected to bring further downpours to southeast Queensland and northern NSW on Friday.
Bureau of Meteorology meteorologist Dean Narramore says isolated rainfall totals in some areas stretching from Byron Bay in NSW up to Fraser Island (also know as K’Gari Island) in Queensland could exceed 300 millimetres in the coming days.
‘This is a dangerous set-up as very heavy rainfall falls over already saturated soils,’ Mr Narramore said.
The SES has issued an evacuation warning for low lying areas along the Nambucca River and door knocked homes overnight.
Some 630 callouts were received by the SES in the 24 hours up to 6am Thursday, with 27 flood rescues, predominantly from vehicles.
Many of the calls for help were for sandbagging to protect against flooding and for damaged roofs.
The Northern Rivers, Mid North Coast and Central Coast are the areas of concern for the SES on Friday.
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