70 homes inundated after 1.1m of rain dumped on Cardwell, Premier Crisafulli views damage

Hundreds of residents are relying on donated rations at Cardwell, with the replenishment of grocery supplies at the town’s only supermarket among a number of urgent priorities following significant flooding.

A monsoonal tropical low pressure system has brought devastating widespread flooding to North Queensland and parts of Cardwell in Far North Queensland, with over 1000 millimetres of rain recorded in some areas. Cardwell resident Ian Rowe has lived in his Roma Street house for 36 years, and has never seen flood waters rise so high as they did on Sunday night. Picture: Brendan Radke

Hundreds of residents are relying on donated rations at Cardwell, with the replenishment of grocery supplies at the town’s only supermarket among a number of urgent priorities following significant flooding

On Tuesday, Cassowary Coast Regional Council opened its Community Recovery Hub at the Cardwell Community Hall where staff by midday had assisted over 100 locals with personal hardship claims, while offering household pantry items – sourced from Tully.

Authorities estimated about 70 homes at Cardwell were inundated between Sunday night and early Monday morning after more than 1.1m of rain was dumped on the seaside town between Saturday and Tuesday.

Between Ayr and Cairns, many sites recorded weekly rainfall in excess of 700 mm, with the highest weekly rainfall total (to 3 February) at a Bureau gauge at Cardwell Range with 1697.0 mm which also recorded the highest daily rainfall total for this week, with 626.0 mm in the 24 hours to 9 am on 3 February.

A monsoonal tropical low pressure system has brought devastating widespread flooding to North Queensland and parts of Cardwell in Far North Queensland, with over 1000 millimetres of rain recorded in some areas. Joyce Morrison, Carolyn Sheely and Bernice Schubert pick up some essential items from the community hub set up by Cassowary Coast Council at the Cardwell Hall. Picture: Brendan Radke

And despite the large number of displaced residents, Mayor Teresa Millwood said no requests had been made for emergency shelter.

“We had made available about 150 spaces for emergency shelter, but everyone has managed to find family or friends to stay with, this community has been extremely generous towards each other,” she said.

Ms Millwood said on Tuesday the local disaster management group, which included representatives from Ergon Energy, had deemed it safe to begin restoring power to all properties, and council services including water and sewage were still operational.

However, she said immediate priorities she would be taking up Premier David Crisafulli, who arrived at 1.30pm to assess damage, included restoring telecommunications, replenishing groceries, and ensuring government disaster funding was paid out in a timely manner to affected households.

A monsoonal tropical low pressure system has brought devastating widespread flooding to North Queensland and parts of Cardwell in Far North Queensland, with over 1000 millimetres of rain recorded in some areas. Cardwell resident Ian Rowe has lived in his Roma Street house for 36 years, and has never seen flood waters rise so high as they did on Sunday night. Picture: Brendan Radke

Ms Millwood said while full estimations were yet to be completed, it had been reported to her many households were under or uninsured.

“We’ll be seeking for our supermarket to be restocked, whatever measure they need to take, that’s a priority,” she said.

“We’re also seeking ‘cows’ and ‘meows’ which are portable telecommunication instruments so that people can get connected.

“We understand the main issue for Telstra is actually out at Snake Creek near Charters Towers and Telstra is working on that, but without that, residents here are almost cut off every way.”

Crews from the National Broadband Network had established a temporary satellite service at the community hub, allowing residents to connect to the internet.

A monsoonal tropical low pressure system has brought devastating widespread flooding to North Queensland and parts of Far North Queensland, with ove 1000 millimetres of rain recorded in Cardwell. Queensland Premier David Crisafulli speaks with police officer Detective Sergeant Mike Anderson while he cooks a barbeque at the Cardwell Police Station. Picture: Brendan Radke

Ms Millwood said as residents began cleaning up, garbage services would resume on Wednesday, but warned locals to use protective equipment and be vigilant of waterborne diseases.

Cassowary Coast Police Inspector Nathan Blain said while there were no further calls for rescue or assistance over Monday night, it was believed greater state government services would arrive on Wednesday to help with clean up and recovery efforts.

Mr Crisafulli, who spoke with residents impacted on Roma and Gregory streets, said restoring communications had been reported to him as the town’s major short-term priority.

A monsoonal tropical low pressure system has brought devastating widespread flooding to North Queensland and parts of Far North Queensland, with ove 1000 millimetres of rain recorded in Cardwell. Queensland Premier David Crisafulli is briefed by Cassowary Coast Police Inspector Nathan Blaine after he arrives in Cardwell, which was inundated with flood water on Sunday night. Picture: Brendan Radke

He said he was also aware of a lack of insurance coverage for residents and said “there will be support for everyone involved, whether they’ve got insurance or not”.

Mr Crisafulli doubled down on his stance of “building back better” noting it was unacceptable for Cardwell to be isolated in both directions via the Bruce Hwy, and also added long-term solutions to waterways, such as the troubled One Mile Creek, to his agenda.

“Whether that be facilitating approvals to allow dredging or helping rebuild roads to a higher standard, events like this provide an opportunity,” he said.

Originally published as 70 homes inundated after 1.1m of rain dumped on Cardwell, Premier Crisafulli views damage