Townsville residents hope for the best but prepare for the worst

Townsville residents are hoping for the best but preparing for the worst, as memories of the 2019 flood rush back.

Townsville residents are hoping for the best but preparing for the worst as high tide approaches.

Hermit Park’s Ross Bennett endured the 2019 floods where waters rose within a matter of hours and inundated underneath his high-set home.

Six years on from the devastating disaster, Mr Bennett said the difference this time was that they were well prepared.

“The river is coming up but very slowly, I think we will be fine at the moment, but will know by high tide today,” he said.

Hermit Park is hoping for the best. Picture: Adam Head

“We never got any warning in 2019, it just turned up in the street, we were under for seven days here, within a couple of hours we were all under.

“We were well and truly under here, it was well over the fence.

“We’ve had heaps of warning, heaps of preparation this time.”

Mr Bennett’s street had started to fill with water but their yard and under their home was so far unscathed at 10.30am.

Annabella Giorgas moved all her stuff upstairs. Pics Adam Head

Other residents in their low-set street had already lost cars in floodwaters, with the high-tide at midday expected to push water levels up even higher.

Another Hermit Park resident, Annabella Giorgas, 11, said her family had been preparing for the worst.

“We’ve just moved all of our stuff upstairs and we are going to do the couches once they release the gates, hopefully they don’t,” she said.

“We had to leave (school) early on Friday, everyone was really scared.”