‘Not safe’: Tourists stuck on Hamilton Island as rain inundates northern Qld

A plane has been forced to abort its landing at a tourist hotspot and other communities can only wait for help as deadly floods sweep North Queensland.

Wild weather continues to cause havoc across northern parts of Queensland, with some communities struggling to get assistance as planes are diverted and power remains cut off.

Ingham, home to 4500 people north of Townsville, has been cut off for days as immense flooding peaked on Sunday and Monday.

A woman died when an SES boat capsized on Sunday, and a 82-year-old woman’s body was found in a paddock outside the town on Tuesday.

As river levels begin to drop, Ingham has been dealt another blow - the town is without drinking water.

A generator arrived in the town on Tuesday but due to IT issues, it could still be a while before the systems return.

A flooded substation in Ingham. Picture: Ergon Energy

“This is a water failure advice message from the Hinchinbrook Shire Local Disaster Management Group,” an alert issued at 6am on Wednesday said.

“The water system has failed and residents will not have water. A timeframe for repairs is unknown however restoration is under way as a priority.”

Areas of Queensland hit with deadly flooding are expected to receive more torrential rain in the coming days.

Visitors to Hamilton Island have also copped the brunt of the wild weather, with flights even being impacted from the holiday hotspot.

A New Zealand councillor Josephine Bartley was waiting at Hamilton Airport for her flight to Sydney when she saw the Qantas flight abort its landing due to concerning weather conditions on Tuesday.

“It was going to be our flight back to Sydney, but couldn’t land due to weather here in Hamilton Island,” Ms Bartley said on social media.

“So we are still here on the island.

“Our flight back to Sydney was cancelled therefore we weren’t able to catch our connecting flights back to Auckland.”

A Qantas flight attempting to land on Hamilton Island aborted its landing last minute due to extreme weather. Picture: Facebook

Ms Bartley said the airline had told her she would be rebooked on another flight when it was safe to fly, and apologised to her constituents that she would not be able to make it back home to New Zealand for several commitments.

“Rain is quite heavy so we’re heading back to airport in the morning to see if we get on flights,” she said.

“Grateful though airline decided not to land in unsafe conditions and for airline putting passengers safety first.”

Forecasts for Townsville have been upgraded to expected rainfall of up to 100mm on Wednesday, up to 80mm on Thursday and up to 90mm on Friday. This comes after low-lying areas of the city narrowly escaped being inundated by floodwaters on Monday.

Ingham is expected to be hit by more than 200mm of rain from Wednesday to Saturday.

At 4.20am on Wednesday, a warning for fast-moving floodwaters was issued for people in the Georgetown area.

Flood damage is extensive. Photo: Supplied

Emergency management minister Jenny McAllister told the Today show the government will continue to provide support to those communities impacted by the flooding.

“It has been an incredibly difficult weekend and couple of days through this week for these communities and we do have devastating news yesterday that a second person has lost their life,” Ms McAllister said.

“We’re, of course, really thinking about their friends and their family.

“This will be really tough for them, but it’ll be really tough for the community of Ingham.

“And that, of course, is one of the places that’s had the most water through their town, the place that’s been isolated for a very long time.

“And we’re very concerned about working as rapidly as we can to restore services to Ingham.

“Today we’re announcing another tranche and a round of assistance.

“We’ll be opening up the Disaster Recovery Allowance and this is a payment that’s made available to people who’ve lost income.

“So, if you’re a person who hasn’t been able to go to work because your place of work has been closed or because the roads have been not open to you to get between your place and work, you’ll be able to apply.”

Residents continue to get sandbags in an effort to protect their properties. Picture: Facebook

Ms McAllister said the government wa also working with Woolworths to ensure Ingham and surrounding communities could get food supplies as soon as possible, as the Bruce Highway remains closed.

“This has been a real focus over yesterday and I actually spoke with the CEO of Woolworths yesterday to talk with her about how we work together to resupply communities that have been cut off,” she said.

“They’re obviously very engaged in this challenge.

“The aerial support that is being provided by the Australian government is really critical in resupplying these isolated communities.

“Yesterday we were able to get a generator into the town of Ingham, and I understand that that generator is intended to be used to restore their water supply, so that’s a really important first step.

“We’re also working closely, of course, to get SES - to use these helicopters that have been able to be provided to get SES personnel.

“We’re really looking to throw everything we can at supporting these communities have been isolated for quite some time now. I’m hoping to get to Ingham myself today and that’ll be a chance to talk a little more with locals, see how they’re travelling. They have really been through an incredibly difficult time.”

Annabella Giorgas, 11, walks along her street in the Hermit Park suburb of Townsville on Monday. The low-lying suburbs barely avoided disastrous water levels. Picture: Adam Head /NewsWire

There is still plenty of rain expected to fall across North Queensland on Wednesday. Picture: Weatherzone

About 400km northwest of Townsville, residents in the low-lying areas near Etheridge Bridge were told to leave immediately in the early hours of Wednesday.

The warning said conditions in the area were “very dangerous”.

Overnight, inland areas in Queensland’s Gulf Country, Northern Goldfields and Upper Flinders districts were battered with rain.

At Mundjuro, about 500km west of Townsville, 160mm of rain was recorded in the six hours to 6am.

Maurice Fitzgerald surveys his saturated and muddied house at Cardwell in North Queensland. Picture: NewsWire / Brian Cassey

“Severe thunderstorms are likely to produce heavy rainfall that may lead to flash flooding in the warning area over the next several hours. Locations which may be affected include Richmond, Gregory Springs and Cloneys Creek,” the warning from the Bureau of Meteorology said.

“Severe thunderstorms are no longer occurring in the North West district and the warning for this district is cancelled.”

Major rainfalls in the Herbert River catchment inundated the town of Ingham during the past week.

Roads around Home Hill, south of Townsville, have been extensively cut off. Picture: TMR

On Sunday morning, a 63-year-old woman died after an SES boat capsized at Ingham. On Tuesday morning, the body of an 82-year-old woman was found at Bemerside, near Ingham, in a cane paddock.

On Wednesday morning, most river levels are falling or holding steady.

“Small renewed river level rises are possible across the Herbert River catchment with further rainfall, however flooding is expected to generally ease over the next few days,” the bureau forecasts.

“Significant heavy rainfall has been observed across the Herbert River catchment over the last few days, particularly over the lower reaches of the catchment. Further rainfall and thunderstorms are forecast for the rest of the week and into the weekend.”

Originally published as ‘Not safe’: Tourists stuck on Hamilton Island as rain inundates northern Qld