The recent Brisbane floods have many Australians interested in the history of flooding: BOM keeps great records of floods around the Queensland, and a quick read reveals just how numerous and severe some of the flooding is. This truly is the land of drought and flooding rain.
The volume of information is a lot to digest, and can be explored at BOM flood history: even this summary of the 1970s gives an indication of the severity of floods.
1970JanuaryAs a result of Cyclone "Ada", major flooding was experienced in the Pioneer River, particularly at Mackay on 19th, and in the Don River at Bowen on 19th and 20th.
Severe local flooding occurred in coastal streams affecting towns between Sarina and Bowen.
Major flooding occurred in the Bowen and Broken rivers in the Burdekin basin, but only moderate flooding occurred in the lower Burdekin River.
Major flooding was experienced also in the upper catchments of the Isaacs and Connors rivers and in Funnel Creek, all far northern tributaries in the Fitzroy basin.
However only moderate flooding occurred in the lower Mackenzie River, and only river rises below flood level resulted in the Fitzroy River.
The first heavy rains on the mainland were experienced on the morning of 18th.
Rainfall totals to 0900 18th included falls of 60mm along the coast between Mackay and Calen and in the headwaters of the Pioneer River, and 310mm at Proserpine.
At this time local flooding occurred around Proserpine and nearby coastal areas, but the main rivers, the Don and Pioneer, were not in flood.
To 0900 19th Bowen recorded 47mm and Mackay 110mm, whilst falls of up to 775mm were received between these towns and inland to the headwaters of the Pioneer River.
The upper tributaries of the Pioneer River began to rise steadily during 18th and by 2100 the river at Mirani was more than 1 metre above flood level and rising at more than 1 metre per hour.
The river at Mirani subsequently reached a peak at 0600 on 19th.
In the last week of the month moderate flooding occurred in the Mary River between Kenilworth and Tiaro as a result of rainfalls of up to 200mm over the southern and eastern sections of the catchment area.
1970FebruaryWidespread minor to moderate flooding was reported following scattered heavy rains over most of the State.
A fresh in the Burdekin River was complemented by rains of up to 110mm in the lower catchments, causing minor flooding downstream of Dalbeg on 5th and early 6th.
Moderate flooding was reported in the Thomson River at Jundah and Stonehenge, the Diamantina River at Diamantina Lakes and the Georgina River at Marion Downs.
Moderate and minor flooding occurred in the middle and upper reaches of the Flinders and Cloncurry rivers respectively between 2nd and 12th, following rains of up to 85mm in these catchments.
Minor to moderate flooding was experienced in the Bulloo River at Adavale and the Paroo River at Eulo.
Run-off will continue into early April in the lower reaches of the Thomson and Barcoo rivers, but flooding from upstream should cause only minor freshes.
1970AprilFrom the 23rd, moderate flooding was experienced in the Paroo River and minor flooding in the Bulloo River.
1970May to AugustNo significant flooding occurred in Queensland.
Small freshes were maintained during the last two weeks in the Warrego, Balonne and Moonie rivers.
1970OctoberDuring the first week of the month, the recession of the September floods on the Macintyre River was experienced with minor flooding between Goondiwindi and Mungindi.
On Saturday 24th there was flash flooding in the Brisbane City metropolitan area in Kedron Brook and Enoggera Creek resulting in damage to furniture and fittings in private homes.
1970NovemberMinor flooding was reported in the Paroo River at Eulo on 12th and in the Dawson River at Taroom on 18th.
1970DecemberFlooding occurred in most rivers in south-east Queensland, in the area south from the Comet and Belyando rivers and east from the Warrego River.
In the second week, flooding also occurred in Brisbane City metropolitan creeks and streams.
1971JanuaryDuring the first week of the month, flooding continued from December in the Macintyre, Dawson, Comet, Condamine and Balonne rivers.
1972May to SeptemberNo significant flooding occurred in Queensland.
1972OctoberRains in south-east Queensland during the first week and additional rain from the middle of the month brought most catchments to a state of saturation by 26th.
As a result, the heavy rains in the south-east from 27th to 30th produced the season's first floods.
Major flooding was caused in the Macintyre River mainly downstream from Goondiwindi.
In the Condamine River there was widespread flooding in most tributaries upstream from Tummaville.
As a result, the combined run-off produced major flooding downstream from Tummaville and extensive crop losses.
1972NovemberFlood levels continually fluctuated in the Condamine, Balonne and Macintyre rivers during the month.
The flooding attained major proportions in the lower reaches of the Condamine River and Macintyre River below Goondiwindi.
Minor to moderate flooding was experienced in the Albert, Logan and Nerang rivers and moderate flooding occurred in the Warrill Creek and Bremer River, tributaries of the Brisbane River.
Minor flooding progressed down the Mary River from 11th to 14th, and local flooding occurred in Brisbane City metropolitan areas from heavy rain on 9th.
1972DecemberMinor to moderate flooding eased during the first week of the month in the Bulloo, Paroo, Warrego and Barcoo rivers.
1973JanuaryOver the last half of the month, minor to moderate flooding occurred in the middle and lower reaches of the Condamine and Paroo rivers.
1973FebruaryFrequent storms and showers resulted in the progressive build -up of flood run-off producing major flooding in the Warrego, Paroo, Bulloo, Barcoo, Thomson, Cooper and Diamantina systems.
In addition, minor to moderate flooding occurred in the Burke, Hamilton and lower Georgina rivers.
Cunnamulla, Charleville, Quilpie and Adavale recorded flooding in and around the townships and there were widespread road and rail disruptions.
During the middle of the month minor to moderate flooding occurred twice in the Mary and Stanley rivers.
Major flooding also occurred in the middle reaches of the Moonie River, with only minor flooding in the lower reaches.
In the north of the State, minor to moderate flooding occurred in the Fitzroy system in the Connors River and Funnel Creek, extending into the lower Isaacs River, with traffic disabilities for up to two days.
Minor flooding also occurred in the Belyando, lower Burdekin and Flinders rivers.
1973MarchDuring the second week of the month, heavy rain on the North Tropical Coast caused flooding and traffic disabilities between Ingham and Babinda, with moderate flooding in the lower Herbert River and minor flooding in the Tully River.
Flooding eased in western rivers during the first two weeks.
Towards the end of the month heavy rains, associated with the decay of Cyclone "Bella", fell over the catchments of the Nicholson and Gregory rivers causing major flooding.
A high total of 475mm of rain in 24 hours was recorded at Westmoreland Station to the north of the Nicholson River.
Further south, heavy rains up to 200mm in 4 days fell over catchment areas of the Georgina, Burke and Hamilton rivers, causing major flooding in these streams.
Major flooding occurred between Kenilworth and Tiaro on the Mary River, which peaked in Gympie at 19.61metres and in Maryborough at 7.70metres.
Major flooding also occurred in the upper Brisbane River and Stanley River, but flooding was not significant in the lower reaches.
Though flooding of major proportion was occurring in the Macintyre River again towards the close of the month, there were few if any reports of damage to property or stock.
The Cloncurry, lower Flinders, Gregory and Leichhardt rivers also recorded moderate to major floods in the same period.
1977FebruaryAs the month opened, the Georgina River was in major flood and the Diamantina River was in moderate flood.
Conditions eased in these streams by 3rd.
From 6th to 17th the Tully and Herbert rivers and other streams between Ingham and Cairns fluctuated from minor stream rises to major flooding.
The heavy rains returned to the inland from about 16th with the Georgina River soon in major flood for the second time in the month, the level again approaching the 1974 record level at Urandangie.
The inland flooding this time extended minor to major floods to all western streams beyond and including the Warrego River.
The flood levels in most streams were maintained to the end of the month.
Also during this period, minor floods were reported on the Flinders River in the north-west.
However floods there had eased by 22nd.
1977MarchFlooding in the far western rivers, including the Thomson and Barcoo rivers and Cooper Creek,west to the Northern Territory border, eased during the first two weeks of the month.
However, minor flood levels were still evident along the South Australian border at the end of the month.
During the second week, major flooding developed in most coastal streams on the North Tropical Coast and Ingham was seriously flooded.
Considerable damage was reported in the Ingham and Tully areas.
Coastal flooding and widespread traffic disabilities also occurred in the same period between Sarina and Cairns.
Major flooding occurred in the Warrego and Balonne rivers.
Minor flooding and traffic disabilities occurred in the Tully River and associated streams, about the middle of the month.
Flooding on the Macintyre eventually reached major levels downstream of Goondiwindi, with the Balonne River reporting moderate floods.
The Dawson River reached major flood levels at Taroom and the Mackenzie River reached moderate levels, with other streams of the Fitzroy basin also causing traffic disabilities for short periods.
1977June to OctoberNo significant flooding occurred in Queensland.
1977NovemberVery isolated local flash flooding occurred along the Central Coast just north of Rockhampton for a short period about the middle of the month.
1977DecemberLate in the month, isolated heavy storms on the Central Coast strip between St. Lawrence and Innisfail caused local flooding in small streams,and traffic disabilities on unsealed sections of coastal roads.
Localised heavy rainfall in the Upper Western and Carpentaria districts caused significant stream rises in the upper reaches of the Leichhardt, Burke and Georgina rivers,with associated traffic disabilities.
1978JanuaryHeavy rain in the Macintyre catchment late in the month brought major flooding to the Macintyre River downstream of Goondiwindi.
The major flood which occurred on the Fitzroy River brought extensive flooding to Rockhampton where the Fitzroy peaked at 8.15 m on Sunday 12th, causing some property damage.
Following heavy rainfall before mid-month, this river recorded a major flood from 11th to 18th, with minor to moderate flooding being recorded for some days either side of the above dates.
The heavy rainfall also caused stream rises in other systems, namely the Thomson and Barcoo rivers and Cooper Creek, the Bulloo, Paroo and Warrego rivers, and the Diamantina and Georgina rivers and Eyre Creek.
1978NovemberHeavy rainfall early in the month caused some moderate to minor flooding in the Macintyre River downstream of Goondiwindi, to the upper Condamine River in the Pratten and Cecil Plains area, and the Paroo River downstream of Eulo.
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