In the Moreton Bay district of Queensland, two tradesmen saved an old man who became stuck in his car as floodwaters swept it away.
After a rain bomb struck the village of Beachmere on Tuesday, Jack Cooper and his neighbour Adam Cheney were the first to discover the elderly man submerged up to his chest in floodwater.
“We just took a dog for a walk and had a look to see if the bank was about to break, to see how much water was going to come,” Cheney said.
“We looked down the end and there was a car hanging off the bank going into the spoon drain.”
The two dialled 911 and asked as many neighbours as possible to come assist.
“We yelled out to everyone on the street everyone came with kayaks, paddleboards,” Cheney stated.
“There was probably about six of us at one point.”
Emergency services swiftly arrived after a neighbour launched a boat, transporting the victim to safety.
“He was pretty shaken up by the time we opened up the door and pulled him into the kayak,” Cooper stated.
Cooper claimed that he was only mildly concerned for his safety.
“(If) there’s someone else more in danger and I’d rather him go to his family at the end of the night,” he replied.
Fortunately, the old man was unharmed, and ambulance workers drove him home.
“I’d like to hear something from him… catch up for a beer,” Cooper said.
On Tuesday, a sizable portion of the municipal districts of Moreton Bay and North Brisbane received between 250 and 300 mm of rain.
Residents of Beachmere anticipate that it will take the town at least a week to dry out because yesterday’s flooding didn’t stop.
