Coast facing 200mm deluge

Three children and an adult were rescued from the Mary River near Kenilworth.

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Poll

Did you take the tsunami warning seriously or were you not bothered by it?

This poll ended on 01 April 2010.

Yes I took it seriously

62%

No I wasn't concerned

29%

I didn't know about it

7%

This is not a scientific poll. The results reflect only the opinions of those who chose to participate.

THREE children and an adult were rescued from a fast-flowing Mary River near Kenilworth on the weekend with authorities warning of more flood dangers ahead.

The group had been canoeing against a 15 knot tide when they ran into difficulties about 11.50am.

Natalie Bergsma, of Noosa, told the Daily today her group were just packing up at the campsite near the Kenilworth Homestead when they heard cries for help.

She said while the water was not deep, it was flowing fast and with children in the canoe there was no way the mother was going to risk them.

"It was flowing really strong,'' Mrs Bergsma said.

"It (the river) had come up heaps overnight.''

"Their kayak had overturned.''

In the end, police were able to walk through to the mother and children and carry them one by one to the shore.

With the aid of rescuers, they were back on dry ground by 12.30pm.

The Sunshine Coast has been warned to brace for possible flash flooding and strenuous conditions on Monday as an intense monsoonal low dumps heavy rain across south-east Queensland.

The Bureau of Meteorology has issued a severe weather warning for central and southern and south-east Queensland, as the system tracks east.

It says flooding can be expected, and it could happen fast given the ground is already waterlogged from recent heavy rain.

Sunshine Coast residents are being warned to prepare for localised flooding and heavy rainfall, with up to 200mm expected in the next two days.

Brisbane residents are being warned not to park in areas that were hit by flash floods that swamped cars and sent some vehicles floating down streets last month.

"It's quite an intense system - one of the most intense systems we've seen come through as these monsoon lows," Bureau of Meteorology (BoM) senior forecaster Geoff Doueal told the ABC.

"It's almost like a tropical cyclone over land.

"It is already saturated in the ground out (west) because it is already flooding, but ... could even be a lot of flash flooding as this particular system goes through."

Keep up-to-date with the latest weather information for the Sunshine Coast.

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