Emergency services had already issued an emergency warning overnight for Inglewood, which is tucked in a bend of quickly rising Canning Creek about 230km west of the Gold Coast, near the New South Wales border.
Residents were told to expect “internal and external flooding” and urged to get to the evacuation point at the local cemetery.
Early Wednesday morning, police added further force to the message, making an emergency declaration under the Public Safety Preservation Act covering essentially the entire town.
“Significant flooding is expected to occur across the township in coming hours,” police warned.
“Residents are asked to take advice from emergency services on the ground and relocate to an assembly point at Inglewood Cemetery.”
On Facebook, the Goondiwindi Regional SES called it a “mandatory evacuation”.
The Macintyre brook catchment area was expected to reach the major flood level about 2am.
