Queensland police began investigating after a man was found dead in Smothering Creek on 26 October. Fire crews rescued stranded campers at Leyburn, while police said flooding closed roads in the Lockyer Valley. Police will prepare a report for the coroner.
Queensland firefighters rescued campers stranded by floodwater at Leyburn on 26 October, as a former councillor was found dead in a creek on the state’s Fraser Coast. The Guardian identified the man as James Hansen, 57, a dairy farmer and former Queensland councillor.
The incidents followed torrential rain from 22 to 26 October that flooded rivers and roads across southern and eastern Queensland.
Queensland police said emergency services were called to Boompa shortly after 11am on 26 October following reports that a man had been found unresponsive. He was declared dead after being found in Smothering Creek on Boompa Road. Police began investigating the death and will prepare a report for the coroner.
Further south, Queensland Fire and Rescue crews trained to work in fast-moving water responded at 7.45am on 26 October to campers stranded at a public campground in Leyburn, in the Southern Downs. The campers were rescued without incident at about 11.15am.
On 26 October, Queensland police said flash flooding at Laidley Creek and Glenore Grove in the Lockyer Valley, west of Brisbane, had closed some roads.
Rain on 22 October caused flash flooding and hundreds of calls for help in south-east Queensland. The state’s fire department carried out more than 16 rescues in fast-moving water, including using a raft to retrieve an elderly man clinging to his vehicle’s roof at Caboolture. Several schools closed on 23 October.
The NIH–NASA competition seeks better measurements in laboratory drug-safety models, with submissions scheduled to open on 15 December 2026.
2 min
Wind gusts reached 100km/h in central-west New South Wales around midday on 25 October. By that afternoon, a broad line of storms had swept through the state’s west. Australia’s Bureau of Meteorology issued a severe thunderstorm warning for Sydney, greater Wollongong and parts of the Blue Mountains, Hawkesbury, Gosford, Wyong, Wollondilly and Wingecarribee. Eight flood warnings were in place across southern Queensland.
In its 25 October assessment, the bureau said severe thunderstorms were likely that afternoon across southern Queensland, western New South Wales, the Australian Capital Territory and eastern Victoria. It warned of hail, damaging winds, flash flooding and power outages.
Crock said high pressure over the Tasman Sea had blocked weather fronts for the preceding 10 days, bringing repeated storms and rain to southern Queensland. A front of cooler air moving from the west on 25 October was pushing that pattern away and drawing tropical moisture from the north, bringing storm conditions to central New South Wales and Canberra.
The bureau’s 23 October forecasts had outlined storm and rain risks across several states for 24–25 October.
| Date | Area | Earlier forecast |
|---|---|---|
| 24 October | Central and eastern Queensland, including Rockhampton, Gladstone, Bundaberg, the Sunshine Coast hinterlands and Roma | Severe thunderstorms and heavy rain were forecast. |
| 24 October | Parts of Victoria, including Melbourne’s eastern suburbs, and central and eastern South Australia | Severe storms were possible. |
| Overnight on 24–25 October | Tasmania | Heavy rain was expected to develop. |
| 25 October | Western New South Wales, Sydney, north-eastern Victoria and Brisbane | Severe thunderstorms were forecast as a cold front moved across New South Wales. |
On 25 October, the bureau forecast that the Mary River downstream of Gympie would reach major flood levels at Tiaro during the evening of 25 October and into 26 October. It also forecast continued storms in northern New South Wales and southern Queensland over that period as the cold front advanced. Crock said 26 October was expected to be the system’s final major day of storms.
On 26 October, the bureau said Queensland’s weather was set to return to more typical spring conditions as the week continued, with hot, humid days followed by more subdued afternoon showers and storms.
The programme brings together national laboratories, universities and industry partners, with plans for a sensor-equipped test bed and self-adjusting pilot production lines.
2 min
Previously seen only through its infrared heat, the dusty feature is visible in reflected starlight, allowing researchers to test a possible collision origin.
4 min
Update ·
Adds James Hansen’s identification, the police investigation into his death, the Leyburn camper rescue, Lockyer Valley road closures and the latest weather outlook.
Update ·
Adds measured gusts of 100km/h in New South Wales, Sydney-area thunderstorm warnings, eight southern Queensland flood warnings and forecasts extending into 26 October.
Correction ·
Corrected the wording of the English and Armenian versions.
