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BRISBANE - Residents were rescued from homes and cars overnight as floodwaters and torrential rain caused widespread havoc on the Sunshine Coast and the Wide Bay regions north of Brisbane.
Emergency Management Queensland spokesman Andy Christie said there were numerous calls for assistance but no widespread evacuations.
"There have been about 80 calls for assistance overnight through the Sunshine Coast area," Mr Christie said.
"Most of the calls relate to water in homes and those type of flooding-type scenarios," he said.
SES volunteers had sandbagged some homes and Queensland Fire and Rescue Service had been called in to pump water out of houses, he said.
"There were also three rescues overnight - including two adults from a submerged car in Beddington Road at Doonan," Mr Christie said.
"There were also a couple of rescues from houses and the people were dropped off at neighbours - so it was localised flooding."
"The whole Sunshine Coast area has been affected."
The Bruce Highway was cut just north of Tiaro with trees down over powerlines, and police advised motorists not to drive over flooded roads.
The weather bureau said heavy rainfall in the eastern tributaries of the upper Mary River had caused flooding in Six Mile Creek at Cooran and rises in the Mary River at Moy Pocket, Dagun Pocket and Gympie.
Minor flooding was expected to develop at Gympie today.
Rainfall in the 12 hours to 7am (9am NZT) today included 186mm at Cooroy 186mm, 159mm at Cooran and 97mm at Maleny.
But totals for the last three days were sharply higher, with 395mm at Cooroy, 262mm at Cooran, 371mm at Maleny, and 110mm at Kenilworth.
The rain is forecast to ease this afternoon, the weather bureau said.
- AAP
