At 9am 27th a 1002 hPa low was developing just southwest of Mackay and by 3pm was near Yeppoon with Central pressure 1000 hPa. It moved southeast and deepened and by 4am 28th it was 130 km east northeast of Sandy Cape with a central pressure of 992 hPa.

Maximum winds at Double Island Point were 130/35 knots (10 minute average) at 2am 28th. Cato Island reported northeasterly gales from midnight 27th to 2am 28th . A yacht ran on Fraser Island on Monday night 27th . SES workers were forced to sandbag homes at Burnett Heads as heavy rain and strong winds hit area.

On Fraser Island at high tide on Tues the 28th the sea completely covered the beach with large waves pounding the shore with some tents blown down Monday. There were many rescues on Tuesday on the Sunshine and Gold Coasts with one person on life support after his pulse stopped. Severe beach erosion occurred on the Sunshine Coast north of Brisbane and to a lesser extent on the Gold Coast.

This event is classified as an East Coast Low.

More about East Coast Lows

Harden Up
Bureau of Meteorology
The Centre for Australian Weather and Climate Research report