Mountains of sea foam covered coastlines along Australia’s eastern seaboard as cyclonic winds and unprecedented weather conditions bear down on the coast.
Residents in northern New South Wales and southeast Queensland have been warned to brace for worsening conditions by Tuesday morning, as wet weather sets in in the lead up to Christmas.
Conditions deteriorated on Monday after two days of heavy rainfall, damaging winds, flash flooding and dangerous surf conditions.
Main Beach in Byron Bay was almost entirely swallowed by the mounting swell as the rock foundations eroded.
Footage obtained by Daily Mail Australia showed one onlooker’s lucky escape with eroding walkways in Byron Bay.
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Locals inspect erosion damage to Clarkes Beach at Byron Bay, NSW, on Monday (pictured) after the area was battered by a once-in-a-lifetime storm
A car drives through a flooded road at Tumbulgum, NSW, Monday as the SES issues stay at home warnings
Just hours later another man fell into the water when the ground beneath him collapsed, the tourist narrowly avoided falling in almost the exact same spot.
As he watched the king tides lapping beneath him, an enormous tree was ripped from its roots right next to him and flung into the waters below.
Meanwhile north in Snapper Rocks on the Gold Coast and Coolum Beach on the Sunshine Coast, thick murky foam blanketed the regions.
In Snapper Rocks, a small dog named Hazel was lost in foam that had built metres high.
The community came together to help search for her in the murky waters before a young boy and woman managed to find her and drag her from the foam.
A fisherman is seen fishing in Morton Bay from Redcliffe, north of Brisbane, on Monday (pictured) as floods swept through the area
In Snapper Rocks, a small dog named Hazel was lost in foam that had built metres high
The storm has caused extensive damage to the shore line at Main Beach, with coastal residents and business owners bracing for more adversity with king tides due on Monday
A forecaster from the Bureau of Meteorology said Queensland could expect conditions to ease slightly by Tuesday afternoon.
‘Probably not in the morning, though,’ she said.
‘The expectation at the moment is later in the day. But, certainly, tomorrow morning we’d be expecting some increased rain, wind and waves. The surf does look like it’ll hang around for a bit longer now.’
From Tuesday, the system is expected to travel further south and batter much of northeast New South Wales.
While it will weaken on its journey south, the cyclone-like weather will bring about flash flooding, particularly in lower tidal areas along the Mid North Coast and Northern Rivers regions.
According to BoM, the higher risk of flooding will remain in place until at least Wednesday, when the ‘once-in-a-lifetime storm’ is predicted to ease slightly.
But temperamental weather conditions and rain is forecast along the east coast for much of the lead up to Christmas.
An erosion-damaged beach at Byron Bay, NSW, Monday, December 14
Erosion is seen inside Morton Bay from Redcliffe, North of Brisbane, Monday, December 14
Areas within the Sunshine Coast region were flooded on Monday morning but waters drained away following a brief several hours of reprieve in mid-afternoon.
But widespread rainfall totals of up to 300mm were recorded in the 48 hours to Monday, while 750mm of localised rainfall was recorded in Upper Springbrook.
‘Rainfall rates could be locally enhanced in the far north with thunderstorms, leading to the possibility of very heavy rainfall and dangerous flash flooding,’ a warning from BoM reads.
‘At this stage, the widespread heavy rainfall is expected to ease late Tuesday or early Wednesday, though thunderstorms may still produce localised heavy falls that may lead to flash flooding during Wednesday.’
The unprecedented conditions also broke a hole through the bank at Bribie Island which is relied on by boaties and protects much of the region.
Much of the region was closed to the public on Monday, but local business owners were allowed in by afternoon to assess the damage.
Bill’s Boat Hire Caloundra owner, Kerrie Chandler told 9News she was devastated by what she saw.
Cyclonic winds, rain and waves continue to thrash south east Queensland and northern NSW. Pictured: Byron Bay’s Main Beach is swallowed by the storm on Sunday
Coastal shrubs are dragged into the rising surf in Byron Bay, with sand bags proving ineffective in the dangerous conditions
Locals assess the damage on Main Beach as the growing surf and king tide continues to erode sand along the shoreline
‘This is like the fortress between the dynamics of the Coral Sea and the beautiful little Pumicestone Passage,’ she said.
‘We have lost a significant amount of sand and vegetation that won’t be replaced in my lifetime.’
Thousands of homes along the coast have been left with no power as the State Emergency Service responded to more than 900 call outs in the past few days.
Karlene York from the SES said 160 of the callouts have come since 6pm last night.
‘It’s been particularly busy night,’ she said. ‘Most of the jobs we’re assisting with are fallen trees, leaking roofs and windows.’
There are fears more regions will be flooded along the southeast Queensland coastline and into Byron Bay come morning.
Storm surf and king tides have caused large scale erosion, with beaches along Byron Bay disappearing into the rising waters
A man braves the adverse weather conditions to check the waves at Byron Bay’s Main Beach on Monday
Preventative sandbags were swallowed by the storm at Main Beach, with authorities urging people to stay out of the water.
The eroded shoreline is dragging tree branches and fence posts into the ocean, creating dangerous hazards for keen board riders looking to tackle the storm surf.
Businesses on the coastal fringe frantically sandbagged around their premises as they continue to brace for more extreme conditions in the coming days.
Byron local Amelia said she’d never seen the water level reach so high.
‘The tides are really high, especially with the rain. They are all the way up to the footpath, and the waves are splashing on the cars,’ she told The Daily Telegraph.
A 500km stretch of coast from Hervey Bay near Fraser Island to Byron Bay in the Northern Rivers region of NSW was issued with a severe weather warning on Monday, with NSW State Emergency Services receiving more than 50 call outs overnight.
A resident under an umbrella stands on sand bags at Clarke’s Beach in Byron Bay before a king tide took hold of the beach on Sunday
The Wilson River in Lismore has been inundated with rising flood waters, with the river banks bursting over the River Walkway at the Lismore Canoe Club on Monday
A driver loads sandbags into his car in Murwillumbah in northern New South Wales on Sunday
A severe weather warning is in place for a 500km stretch over Australia’s eastern seaboard. Pictured: Main Beach in Byron Ba
The SES says more than 700 calls for help have been made since Friday and 57 overnight, while a severe weather warning for very heavy rainfall is current for the Northern Rivers.
‘This weather at Byron Bay isn’t unheard of but it is unusual to have this much rain at once,’ Bureau of Meteorology forecaster Helen Reid said.
More SES personnel have been sent in after volunteers performed five flood rescues over the weekend in Tweed Heads and Byron Bay.
The SES says the flood situation is being monitored and revised warnings will be issued should the situation change.
People in areas likely to be impacted by flooding should refrain from driving or walking through flood water, take note of road closures and monitor emergency warnings and severe weather updates.
More wet weather is forecast over northern NSW up to Tuesday before the system moves south
Surfers on the run around up the point at Snapper Rocks prepare to hit the waves on Sunday
BoM says thunderstorms could lead to heavy rainfall and dangerous flash flooding, with between 300 and 600mL of rain due to fall in the region by Tuesday.
‘At this stage, the widespread heavy rainfall is expected to ease late Tuesday or early Wednesday,’ BoM said.
‘Thunderstorms may still produce localised heavy falls that may lead to flash flooding during Wednesday.’
Bureau of Meteorology flood manager Justin Robertson said the storm system had exceeded forecasters predictions and more rain was possible.
‘The thing we really need to be aware of is the dynamic weather situation and we could have areas that see much heavier rainfall than our guidance at the moment,’ he said.
BoM also warned damaging winds averaging 60-70km/h were likely along NSW’s coastal fringe from Yamba to as far south as Crescent Head.
Surfers Paradise Beach is engulfed by the growing surf and tide on Sunday causing large scale erosion on the shoreline
Extreme wild weather with massive downpours, thunder, cyclone conditions are set to batter parts of Australia right up until Christmas.
The Bureau of Meteorology has warned it will be a wetter than average month for most of Australia, bringing dangerous conditions to many coastal towns.
The dramatic wet weather event in southern Queensland and northern New South Wales has been described as a ‘once in 100 year’ storm, though wet and windy conditions will now seep across the rest of NSW right up until December 25.
Authorities urged beach users to stay out of the water, but the stormy conditions had favourable winds for the southern Gold Coast points, producing quality surf for experienced surfers
A pedestrian struggles to keep her umbrella steady in windy weather at Surfers Paradise over the weekend
Sydney, Melbourne, Brisbane, Hobart, Darwin and Canberra will all endure heavy rainfall for at least the next five days, with most areas in for a soaking for ten.
A staggering 500mm worth of rain was dumped on Australia’s east coast over the weekend, with residents spending Sunday sandbagging their homes for another deluge forecast to hit in the evening.
Meteorologist Rosa Hoff said the storm was the first of the La Nina season across the east-central Equatorial Pacific.
‘This is finally a weather system that is strong enough, big enough and deep enough that is taking advantage of La Nina and that’s why it’s not just giving us a bit of rain, it’s giving us a lot,’ she told Courier Mail.
Bureau of Meteorology meteorologist Shane Kenny said the wet weather system is forecast to move south from Monday afternoon, spreading down into NSW.
‘We’re expecting the winds to ease right out as that moves on shore, we’re still expecting gale (wind) warnings for the Sunshine Coast and Gold Coast,’ he said.
A red flag and no swimming sign is displayed at Southport Beach on the Gold Coast amid stormy surf conditions on Sunday
‘The damaging winds and the heavy rainfall should be done by Tuesday but we’re likely to see unsettled weather continuing for pretty much the rest of the week.
‘So some shower activity, cloudy skies for pretty much the rests of the week and much more modest rainfall from Tuesday.
Holidaymakers in Murwillumbah were evacuated on Sunday night and moved to higher ground.
Several horses remain stranded in floodwaters with emergency crews unable to reach them.
Coastal areas from Bundaberg to Port Macquarie have copped wild weather conditions over the weekend, with more wet weather to come
A man with a metal detector trawls along the beach at Surfers Paradise in the rain on Sunday
Waves reach to the very edge of the beach at Surfers Paradise with whitewater stretching out for hundreds of metres on Monday
Queensland may experience a wet Christmas with temperatures reaching a high of 27C, forecasters at the Weather Network said.
Sydney is expected to endure nine days of rain before the weather finally clears up in time for the big day, with Melbourne also likely to cop heavy downpours.
Darwin will also have a run of showers and storms from December 19 onward.
Those in Perth will enjoy a sunny run in the lead-up with the mercury reaching a pleasant 25C on Christmas Day.
Hobart is expected to have mostly cloudy skies while Adelaide will enjoy a string of warm weather before reaching a maximum of 27C on Christmas Day with no rain predicted.
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