Significant floods along the Mary River have caused inundations of the city in 1870, 1873, 1893, 1955, 1968, 1974, 1989, 1992, 1999, 2011 and 2013. The first recorded flood in Gympie was in 1870. Most of the floods occur between December and April and are typically caused by heavy rainfall in the headwaters to the south.