Mini flood causes havoc at Cairns Hospital building
Torrents of water streaming through the roof, down lift shafts and the fire stairs of a Cairns Hospital building has forced the emergency shutdown of elevators and relocation of services.
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Torrents of water streaming through the roof, down lift shafts and the fire stairs of a Cairns Hospital building has forced the emergency shutdown of elevators and relocation of services.
Dramatic video recorded on the fourth floor of B Block about 1.45pm on Tuesday reveals inundation of the building from which allied health services, the children’s ward, the blood collection unit, and the dialysis unit are located.
Though appearing to be a serious situation a Cairns and Hinterland Hospital and Health Service spokesman said there was no need to evacuate the building and maintenance crews were called in to mop up the water.
“Our maintenance team is still assessing the incident and associated remediation works,” the spokesman said.
“There was minor disruption to our hospital services, including some clinics being rotated to other parts of the hospital; and two lifts being temporarily out of service in B Block.
“Patients and staff were still able to access wards and clinics via other lifts within the hospital.”
A burst fire hydrant in the upper floors of the building was the source of the water leak, according to the hospital.
The Cairns Hospital was not impacted by historic flooding that left large parts of the region underwater in December 2023 but the facility has been evacuated due to cyclone risk.
In February 2011 the Cairns Hospital and Cairns Private Hospital were both evacuated as a precaution as Tropical Cyclone Yasi barrelled toward the Far North coast which involved the transport of more than 300 patients to Brisbane.
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