Queensland flood information: Burnett River

This document describes the flood risk and previous flooding in the Burnett River catchment.
Last updated: July 2026.

Flood Risk

The Burnett River is located on the southern Queensland coast with the mouth of the river sited just north of the City of Bundaberg. The total area of the catchment is about 33,000 square kilometres.

The Burnett River rises in the Dawes Range, just north of Monto and flows south through Eidsvold and Mundubbera. Along the way it is joined by the Nogo and Auburn Rivers which drain large areas in the west of the catchment. Just before Mundubbera, the main river is joined by the Boyne River draining areas from the south, and then begins its northeasterly journey to the coast. Between Gayndah and Mt Lawless, the Barker-Barambah Creeks system joins the Burnett River.

There are several ungated dams (operated by Sunwater) and weirs across the Burnett catchment.

• Upper Burnett River: Cania Dam, Wuruma Dam.
• Auburn & Boyne Rivers: Boondooma Dam.
• Barker & Baranbah Creeks: Bjelke-Petersen Dam.
• Lower Burnett River: Paradise Dam.

Major flooding in the Burnett River is relatively infrequent and requires widespread heavy rain across the catchment. This requires favourable meteorological conditions, historically most often occurring with the passage of a tropical low-pressure or ex-tropical cyclone through the catchment. These floods can cause considerable damage to rural properties along the rivers, commercial and residential areas in some of the smaller towns in the area, and significant inundation of residential and commercial areas of Bundaberg. Significant floods at Bundaberg can also be generated from very heavy rainfall in the lower reaches of the Burnett River below Mt. Lawless and can be exacerbated when coincided with high astronomical tides. Flash flooding is often reported around the Monto area in the Upper Burnett River.

Previous Flooding

The record of significant floods in the Burnett River extends back to the middle of last century. The flood record at Mundubbera commences with the 1942 flood when the river peaked at 23.62 metres. At Gayndah, records extend back to 1864 with over 15 events exceeding the 10-metre level.

Major floods have been recorded at Bundaberg in 1890, 1893 (twice in 2 weeks), 1942, 1954, 2010 and 2013. The highest recorded flood peak at Bundaberg occurred in January 2013 (Tropical Cyclone Oswald), when the river level reached 9.53 metres. During this event, 4,000 homes were damaged, 7,000 people evacuated, and 600 businesses damaged. This followed widespread 10-day rainfall totals of 400 to 800 mm over lower catchment, and 200 to 400 mm over the upper catchment as the ex-tropical cyclone stalled in the area. Most of which fell in a 3-day period to the 27th of January.

In 2017, heavy rainfall associated with Tropical Cyclone Debbie resulted in moderate flooding in upper river catchment. Between 2018 and 2025, only periodic minor to moderate flood peaks were observed in parts of the catchment, most notably in 2021, 2022 and 2024.

In March 2026, the remnants of tropical low 29U combined with a trough moving across the south of the state and brought widespread heavy rainfall to locally intense rainfall across the Burnet catchment. Widespread accumulated rainfall totals of 200 to 400 mm recorded between Saturday 7 and Tuesday 10 March. Already wet catchments resulted in rapid river rises and major flooding which cut roads and impacted some properties across the region. River levels at Bundaberg peaked above the Major flood level at 7.40 metres on the morning of 26 March 2026 and were the highest recorded since 2013.

Previous flooding events: lower catchment

Flood Event	Walla	Bundaberg
January 1890	23.11	9.04
February 1893	22.84	8.91
February 1942	22.45	8.48
July 1954	19.41	7.26
February 1971	18.08	6.70
March 1992	11.20	3.24
February 2003	9.76	-
December 2010	20.10	7.92
January 2013	23.50	9.53
February 2015	10.11	-
March 2017	8.76	-
October 2017	7.79	2.70
March 2026	19.31	7.40

 

All heights are in metres on flood gauges.

 

Flood Event	Dunollie	Eidsvold Bridge	Mundubbera	Gayndah	Stonelands	Brian Pastures
January 1890	-	-	-	16.27	-	-
February 1893	-	-	-	16.12	-	-
February 1942	12.49	-	23.62	19.66	-	-
July 1954	14.33	-	18.29	14.38	-	15.27
February 1971	12.49	10.69	17.45	13.92	10.24	9.54
March 1992	-	11.50	8.20	6.40	7.41	6.15
February 2003	-	14.35	10.60	8.60	-	-
December 2010	10.45	16.20	18.82	15.60	9.94	8.15
January 2013	12.98	22.21	23.00	18.61	-	13.00
February 2015	-	12.25	10.15	-	5.86	-
March 2017	4.60	10.20	9.62	-	-	-
October 2017	-	10.90	9.17	-	2.11	-
March 2026	11.50	11.23	16.97	14.30	11.17	-

 

All heights are in metres on flood gauges.

 

 

Chart shows flood level classification of recorded flood gauge height observations of the Burnett River at Bundaberg.

 

 

The totem pole shows flood level classification and associated impacts related to local reference sites, along with recorded flood gauge height observations of notable flood events that have occurred on the Burnett River at Bundaberg.

 

 

Chart shows flood level classification of recorded flood gauge height observations of the Burnett River at Gayndah.

 

 

The totem pole shows flood level classification and associated impacts related to local reference sites, along with recorded flood gauge height observations of notable flood events that have occurred on the Burnett River at Gayndah.