Coast Guard to the rescue

Noosa Coast Guard and SES join forces to rescue people stranded by flooding. Picture: Rob Maccoll

Noosa Coast Guard has come to the rescue of people stranded on Noosa North Shore with the Noosa North Shore Ferry out of action due to flooding.

Commander Ian Hutchins said the Coast Guard planned to ferry about 30 people including a pregnant woman and newborn baby from the north shore to Noosa Marina on Tuesday and expected to continue the service as required.

“We’re just getting anybody who’s stuck,“ he said.

A group of almost 20 people who had booked into Beach Road Holiday Homes to celebrate a 60th birthday left some of the group at the resort to bring back vehicles, when the ferry service is reinstated, while most of them hitched a ride with the Coast Guard.

They said while their stay was marked by heavy rain, there hadn’t been any flooding and SES and OzHarvest had dropped off food supplies which were becoming scarce with flooding preventing deliveries.

One woman said she’d been concerned about her return home when the ferry shutdown kept extending.

Commander Hutchins said during the extreme weather the Coast Guard had also been busy halting vessels that had drifted free of their anchors in the swift current of the river.

In one incident a 40ft catamaran wedged itself across the bow of a houseboat.

“We managed to get it off and re-anchored it upstream,“ he said.

“The river is running so fast at the moment.“