Healthy expectant mums from Gladstone are so fearful of travelling to Rockhampton to give birth that they are demanding elective C-sections, as the Central Queensland maternity crisis is now labelled a “national disgrace”.

Rising floodwaters have caused chaos across Queensland, cutting off small towns and leaving at least nine people in need of rescue after more than 200mm of rain fell in some parts of the state.

An Indigenous elder has broken down in tears over moves to ban the public from the tourist icon of Mt Warning.

And an increasing number of nippers are floundering in the water, unable to complete basic swim tests.

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