South East Queensland and northern NSW coasts hit by 'dangerous' weather

A "dangerous" weather event stretching from south east Queensland down the NSW coast is causing flooding, damage and significant beach erosion.

The low-pressure trough develop has already seen 400mm of rain fall in some parts of Queensland over the past few days resulting in severe flooding in Brisbane and the surrounding suburbs.

Gale force winds - with the strongest gusts recorded at Cape Byron this morning where the wind was 104km/h - are also causing significant damage and, combined with high tides, are leading to widespread beach erosion.

Advising of the dangers, Jane Golding from the Bureau of Meteorology (BoM), stated “stay away from stormwater drains (and) don't drive through floodwaters.

"(As) winds are increasing (they) are certainly strong enough to bring down trees and powerlines.

"With the wind comes the waves and we've seen some large waves being whipped up by this system and a those are coming into the coast now and expecting to persist through today."

Beach erosion is most noticeable along the NSW far-north coast, particularly in Byron Bay.

Commenting on the damage, Surf Lifesaving NSW Chief Executive, Steven Pearce advised “with this particular event we're seeing the largest coastal erosion we've seen in many years, particularly around the Byron Bay area which is completely changing the entire landscape of the beaches.

"From a surf lifesaving perspective, what that means for us is it changes the entire formation of the beaches and starts to develop new permanent rips along beaches that would not necessarily have them previously."

The weather has also sparked flash flooding warnings from the Queensland border down to Forster on the NSW mid-north coast while beaches on the Gold Coast have been blanketed in sea foam, with piles up to two metres high in some parts.

The BoM has issued flood warnings for the Tweed River, Wilsons River, and Bellinger River areas of NSW.

Tides and gale-force winds have also broken a hole through a bank on Bribie Island's northern tip.

The narrow strip of sand protects the Pumicestone Passage and parts of the Sunshine Coast from the waves of the Coral Sea.

The channel, which runs from the tip of Bribie Island near Caloundra in the north, to Deception Bay in the south, is also relied on by boaties.

Queensland Parks and Wildlife Services is warning people to stay away from the area.

With beaches across the region closed, Gold Coast Mayor Tom Tate urged all swimmers and surfers to stay away from the dangerous surf conditions over the next two days.

Mayor Tate stated "I don't even recommend an experienced surfer to be out there because things change so quickly.

"Driving past, it's not very good surf anyway - it's choppy, the undercurrent is strong, so really I'd say chill out and give it another 24 to 48 hours."

Images: Beach erosion at Byron Bay today (top, credit Rod Cuthbert/Twitter) and foam and high seas impacting Byron Bay's seafront car park (below, credit Byron Bay Tourism).