3h agoTue 10 Mar 2026 at 8:16pmStay up to date with emergency warnings
ABC Emergency will broadcast regular warnings on ABC Radio. You can find more information, including a map of all the warnings, by clicking here.
Wide Bay, Hervey Bay and Fraser Coast: 855 AM and 100.1 FMSouthern Queensland: 747 AM and 104.9 FMBrisbane: 612 AM, 106.1 FM and Digital Radio
You can also find all these stations on the ABC Listen App.
1m agoTue 10 Mar 2026 at 11:57pm
Bridges to reopen once water falls below 7m
Mayor Helen Blackburn says the water level needs to fall to below 7m so the Tallon and Burnett Bridges can reopen.
Local authorities are still hoping they can reopen them today or tomorrow as the waters start receding.
2m agoTue 10 Mar 2026 at 11:56pm
Bundaberg mayor speaking now
Bundaberg Regional Council Mayor Helen Blackburn is now addressing the media, and she says a few hundred homes and properties have been impacted.
She said the extent of the damage won’t be known until the water recedes and properties can be assessed.
She said the council would be looking to open bridges in “a day or two”.
“I’m so pleased that the community came together and they followed the instructions of evacuating if they needed to and keeping each other safe.”
8m agoTue 10 Mar 2026 at 11:51pm
‘A system and a season that has tested us’
The premier is concluding his remarks by once again thanking the “resilient” community in the Wide Bay.
He says Queensland’s floods across the past few months have been a “system and a season that has tested us”.
Mr Crisafulli says the state government will continue to assist all communities that have been impacted by flooding this season.
8m agoTue 10 Mar 2026 at 11:50pm
Bundaberg Hospital ‘fully operational’
Turning to health now, Mr Crisafulli says the Bundaberg Hospital is “fully operational”.
“There was some minor flooding that impacted the car park as well as staff quarters, and yet the show continued.”
He says some elective surgery has been cancelled, but it was due to patients or staff being unable to reach the hospital.
He has expressed his gratitude to workers in the “world-class” health system.
“I’m very grateful for them.”
11m agoTue 10 Mar 2026 at 11:47pm
Agricultural losses being tallied in the Burnett
Mr Crisafulli says it’s “early days” but already 1,200 head of cattle have been lost along with 1,000km of fencing in the Burnett and Wide Bay region alone.
He’s also anticipating “immense” losses to crops and says the state government will work with the federal government to ensure primary producers are supported.
12m agoTue 10 Mar 2026 at 11:47pm
Concerns for western areas
Mr Crisafulli is now speaking about flooding impacts on the agricultural industry out west.
“There remain some huge impacts to people’s livelihoods particularly in agriculture right along that western run,” he says.
He says it is still a “couple of days” until flood peaks will hit Longreach and Bedourie.
“I want them to know that we’ll be here for them.”
14m agoTue 10 Mar 2026 at 11:44pm
Chinchilla being monitored
Mr Crisafulli says Charleys Creek at Chinchilla is not expected to peak until tomorrow, and things are on a “knife’s edge” as to whether homes are inundated there.
“They’ll be preparing in the event that those homes are impacted,” he says.
Businesses have already been flooded in Chinchilla.
16m agoTue 10 Mar 2026 at 11:43pm
Only eight schools closed state-wide
Mr Crisafulli says the flooding has caused only eight schools to close across the state today, including three state schools and five independent schools.
He says it is a credit to education workers and parents.
“It is so important that people are able to do normal things, and one of those normal things is to enable the kids to go to school safely and for [parents] to be able to go to work.”
17m agoTue 10 Mar 2026 at 11:42pm
640 roads impacted
Mr Crisafulli says the Bruce Highway is open again, but there are still more than 640 roads impacted around Queensland.
He’s thanking the efforts of bridge engineers who were deployed early to communities before they flooded so roads could be reopened more quickly.
19m agoTue 10 Mar 2026 at 11:40pm
Other parts of state on alert
The premier spoke about this yesterday, but he’s once again touching on the fact that extra resources have been sent to Bundaberg to help respond to the emergency.
That includes more police, Ergon crews to help get power back on and POLAIR.
But he’s also reiterating that other parts of the state are also facing flood warnings, and these will be monitored too.
20m agoTue 10 Mar 2026 at 11:39pm
Premier praises efforts of emergency services
Mr Crisafulli is praising emergency services and the local community for how they responded to flooding.
He says traffic controllers, police and firefighters were out all night making sure people didn’t attempt to cross closed bridges across the Burnett River.
There was another rescue overnight – of a person who drove into floodwaters.
He’s also thanked the community who opened their homes to friends and family.
21m agoTue 10 Mar 2026 at 11:37pm
Four flooding events in 15 years
Premier David Crisafulli is now speaking with media in Bundaberg.
He says even though the flood hasn’t reached record levels, some residents have gone through four major flooding events in 15 years.
“That’s a big blow. And it’s hard to keep picking yourself off the canvas,” he says.
He says the government will be “here to help”.
“Proud communities like this find a way to keep bouncing back, but just because they’re resilient doesn’t mean they should be left to their own devices.”
27m agoTue 10 Mar 2026 at 11:32pmPremier to hold press conference
We’re standing by to hear from Queensland Premier David Crisafulli who is likely to be joined by local authorities at a press conference.
He’s due to speak shortly.
38m agoTue 10 Mar 2026 at 11:20pmBOM agrees river is peaking at 7.4m
Senior meteorologist at the Bureau of Meteorology Jonathan How agrees with what we’ve heard this morning from local authorities that the river is peaking at about 7.4m.
“It looks like it may come in slightly below the original forecast figure of 7.6m,” he says.
“It could remain steady for a couple more hours before we start to see a proper decline.”
With no more rain forecast, Mr How says that means no more water is coming into the catchment, which is good news for residents.
The BOM continues to urge people to take care around rivers that are still very swollen.
41m agoTue 10 Mar 2026 at 11:18pm
Burnett River peaks at 7.4m in Bundaberg
District disaster coordinator Chief Inspector Grant Marcus has confirmed that the Burnett River is at its peak of 7.4 metres.
“We don’t think it’ll change much from there, but you don’t know until you know,” Chief Inspector Marcus says.
That’s below the 7.6 metre peak forecast by the weather bureau.
Read more below:
53m agoTue 10 Mar 2026 at 11:06pm
Blue skies but a big clean up ahead
Blue skies over Bundaberg contrast the murky water that lies beneath.
The rain has ceased in Bundaberg and skies are blue. (ABC News: Lucy Loram)
While residents wait to see the extent of the flood damage, they’re welcoming news that the rain has passed.
(ABC News: Lucy Loram)
Water has swallowed streets in Bundaberg Central, bringing with it debris and rubbish — a reminder to residents to stay clear of floodwater, as you never know what’s lurking below.
(ABC News: Lucy Loram)
The floodwater has crept into homes, businesses and cars.
1h agoTue 10 Mar 2026 at 10:54pm
Updated school closures
There’s been a slight update in terms of school closures.
Three state schools are closed today, according to the state government’s disaster dashboard.
Those are:
Bundaberg East State School Sharon State School Kolan South State School
One Catholic school is closed:
St Joseph’s Catholic Primary School
Four independent schools are also closed (according to the website). It’s best to check with your individual school to confirm what’s happening.
Those are:
Impact Community Academy Mungalla Silver Lining School St John’s Lutheran Primary School Wadja Wadja High School
1h agoTue 10 Mar 2026 at 10:52pm
Authorities thinking about supplies, opening bridges
District disaster coordinator and chief inspector Grant Marcus says:
“[The river is] roughly 7.4 metres in Bundaberg, so we’ll continue to monitor that closely,” he says.
“We don’t think it’ll change much from there, but you don’t know until you know.”
Plans are underway to reconnect communities north of the river, but exactly when bridges will reopen depends on how quickly the water recedes.
“We don’t want people to return to their houses to try and clean them when there’s no [running] water,” Chief Inspector Marcus says.
“That’s not going to work, or they return and there’s no electricity or telecommunications.”
Residents are being assured supermarkets and petrol stations are being resupplied as the roads between Bundaberg and Brisbane are open.
1h agoTue 10 Mar 2026 at 10:43pmWidespread road closures
This screenshot from the Queensland traffic site gives a bit of an overview of just how much of an impact the flooding is having on roads across the state.
Here, I’ve filtered road closures by flooding only.
(Supplied: Queensland Traffic)