A woman has died after her car was submerged in flood waters as rain lashed much of Queensland, as the state braced for another cyclone.
Emergency services responded to reports of a car seen in the flooded Malbon River at Duchess, in north-west Queensland, near Mt Isa, after 1pm on Thursday.
A 28-year-old woman was located inside the vehicle and pronounced dead.
The North West is still recovering from flooding caused by the remnants of former Tropical Cyclone Kirrily as the region braces for wilder weather.
A tropical low is expected to move southwest towards the Northern Territory-Queensland border, cross the Gulf of Carpentaria coast and move towards the coast on Friday afternoon.
It has a 40 percent chance of becoming a cyclone on Friday, the Bureau of Meteorology said.
A 28-year-old woman died after her car was submerged in the flooded Malbon River at Duchess, north-west Queensland, about 1pm on Thursday (pictured, car trapped in Brisbane floods ).
A cyclone warning has been issued for Gulf coastal areas from Port Roper in the NT to Burketown in northwest Queensland.
The cyclone will be named Lincoln if it forms, the Bureau of Meteorology said.
Winds of up to 100 km/h and isolated falls of more than 200 mm may affect the cyclone warning area, resulting in the evacuation of vulnerable residents.
In the NT, people have been relocated from the community of Beswick, south of Katherine, while more than 60 residents have been evacuated from Burketown.
The communities of Borroloola, Groote Eylandt and Mornington Island in the NT will be affected by the tropical low even if a cyclone does not develop.
“It’s now getting closer to land, and probably doesn’t have enough time (to become a cyclone),” said the bureau’s Patch Clapp.
“We’re seeing severe weather effects, whether it’s called a cyclone or not, right along the Gulf Coast.”
Winds of 75km/h are already being felt in coastal areas of the McArthur River region of the NT.
Burketown has already recorded 135mm of rain in the last 24 hours, but the office said totals of up to 250mm are possible.
The region is preparing for what would be the third cyclone in as many months this season.
North West Queensland is still recovering from widespread flooding caused by ex-Cyclone Kirrily which crossed the coast just weeks ago.
And Tropical Cyclone Jasper caused record flooding in far north Queensland in mid-December.
“Many of these areas have experienced significant flooding in the last two weeks associated with former Tropical Cyclone Kirrily,” meteorologist Angus Hines said of the region under cyclone warning.
Southeast Queensland was also hit by heavy rain on Friday, causing flash flooding. There were widespread falls of over 100mm overnight (pictured, flash flooding in Nundah, Brisbane)
The Bureau of Meteorology predicted a 40 per cent chance of the tropical low pressure system becoming Cyclone Lincoln and crossing land over Port McArthur (pictured).
‘In a number of these locations, particularly in northern Queensland, flood waters are still receding from the last round of flooding.
“Of particular concern are the Doomadgee and Burketown regions, where many roads are closed and communities remain isolated; further flooding is possible in those hardest-hit regions.”
Flood warnings are in place for north-west Queensland and the NT’s Daly and Katherine Rivers.
Southeast Queensland was also hit by heavy rain on Friday, causing flash flooding.
There were widespread falls of more than 100mm overnight, with Rosalie recording 197mm in the last 24 hours.
Brisbane and Bowen Hills recorded 135mm in the same period, plus 148mm in Mount Cootha.
Since midnight on Friday, the SES has already received around 60 calls for help throughout the state, almost 50 of them in the southeast region alone.