FLOOD WARNING SYSTEM
for the
PINE & CABOOLTURE RIVERS

Pine River at Murrumba Downs

Contained in this document is information about: (Last updated May 2011) Flood Risk Previous Flooding Flood Forecasting Local Information Flood ALERT System Flood Warnings and Bulletins Interpreting Flood Warnings and River Height Bulletins Flood Classifications Catchment Map

Flood Risk

The Pine River catchment drains in a generally easterly direction from the relatively steep D’Aguilar Ranges towards the flat coastal plains of Bramble Bay between Sandgate and Redcliffe. The North Pine River and South Pine River join some 7 km upstream from the mouth,where the combined system forms an extensive coastal estuary. The North Pine Dam located in the middle of the catchment was completed in 1976. The Dam is operated by Seqwater.

The Caboolture River is situated about 40 km north of Brisbane and has a total catchment area of 370 square kilometres. It rises in the D’Aguilar Ranges and flows in an easterly direction towards the coast, passing through Caboolture and entering Deception Bay (the northern part of Moreton Bay) near the township of Beachmere. Its major tributaries include Wararba, Sheep Station, King John and Lagoon Creeks.

The Pine and Caboolture system is susceptible to episodes of rapid flooding which can cause significant damage to public and private property throughout the catchment. Continuing increases in population have accentuated the potential flood risk to life and property, and this trend is unlikely to abate given the current growth in the area.

Previous Flooding

Records dating back to 1966 indicate a few major floods that have occurred in the Pine and Caboolture Rivers. Significant flood events with major flooding were reported in 1967, 1972, 1974, 1989, 1991, 2010 and 2011.

Flood Forecasting

In conjunction with the Moreton Bay Regional Council and Seqwater, the Bureau of Meteorology operates a flood warning system for the Pine and Caboolture Rivers, based on the network of rainfall and river height stations shown on the map. 

The Bureau's Flood Warning Centre issues Flood Warnings and River Height Bulletins for the Pine and Caboolture River catchments during flood events. 

Local Information

The Moreton Bay Regional Council is able to provide further information on flooding in your area of the Pine and Caboolture River catchments.

Flood ALERT System

Since the mid 1990's, an automated flood monitoring system in the Pine and Caboolture River catchments has been progressively developed by Seqwater and Councils.

The system is comprised of a network of rainfall and river height field stations located in the catchment which report via VHF radio to a base station computer located in the Moreton Bay Regional Council office at Strathpine and at Seqwater and Bureau offices. The field stations send reports for every 1 millimetre of rainfall and every 50 millimetre change in river height. 

In consultation with the Moreton Bay Regional Council and Seqwater, the Bureau issues Flood Warnings for the Pine and Caboolture Rivers. 

The base station computers located in the Moreton Bay Regional Council office collects the data and has software that displays it in graphical and tabular form. The data is also received by the Bureau's Flood Warning Centre where it is used in hydrologic models to produce river height predictions. 

Flood Warnings and Bulletins

The Bureau of Meteorology issues Flood Warnings and River Height Bulletins for the Pine and Caboolture River catchment regularly during floods. They are sent to radio stations for broadcast, and to local Councils, emergency services and a large number of other agencies involved in managing flood response activities. Flood Warnings and River Height Bulletins are available via : 

Radio
Radio stations, particularly the local ABC, and local commercial stations, broadcast Flood Warnings and River Height Bulletins soon after issue. 

Local response organisations
These include the Councils, Police, and State Emergency Services in the local area. 

Internet/World Wide Web
Flood Warnings, River Height Bulletins and other weather related data is available on the Bureau's Web page at http://www.bom.gov.au . The Queensland Flood Warning Centre website is http://www.bom.gov.au/qld/flood .

Telephone Weather
Flood Warnings are available through a recorded voice retrieval system, along with a wide range of other weather related and climate information.

Interpreting Flood Warnings and River Height Bulletins

Flood Warnings and River Height Bulletins contain observed river heights for a selection of the river height monitoring locations. The time at which the river reading has been taken is given together with its tendency (e.g. rising, falling, steady or at its peak). The Flood Warnings may also contain predictions in the form of minor, moderate or major flooding for a period in the future. River Height Bulletins also give the height above or below the road bridge or causeway for each river station located near a road crossing. 

One of the simplest ways of understanding what the actual or predicted river height means is to compare the height given in the Warning or Bulletin with the height of previous floods at that location. 

The table below summarises the flood history of the Pine and Caboolture River catchments - it contains the flood gauge heights of the more significant floods.

Historical flood heights for all river stations in the Pine and Caboolture River Floodwarning networks, as shown on the map, are available from the Bureau of Meteorology upon request.

Flood Classifications

Each river height station has a pre-determined flood classification which details heights on gauges at which minor, moderate and major flooding commences. Other flood heights may also be defined which indicate at what height the local road crossing or town becomes affected by floodwaters. 

The table below shows the flood classifications for selected river height stations in the Pine and Caboolture River catchments.

The above details are correct at the time of preparing this document. Up-to-date flood classifications and other details for all flood warning stations in the network are at:

Catchment Map showing the Pine and Caboolture River flood warning network

For further information, contact:
The Regional Director, Bureau of Meteorology, GPO Box 413, Brisbane Q 4001