Cardwell floods again after devastating February event

Colin Oke was preparing to reopen his Cardwell caravan park after it was inundated with flooding in February, before more rain smashed the Far North Queensland coastal town and it was submerged again.

Cardwell is still recovering after floods inundated the town in February 2025. Picture: NewsWire/Adam Head

Colin Oke was preparing to reopen his Cardwell caravan park after it was inundated with flooding in February, before more rain smashed the Far North Queensland coastal town and it was submerged again.

Flooding cut parts of the Bruce Highway between Cardwell and Ingham in hte past two weeks.

Mr Oke, who owns and runs Cardwell Van Park, said some residents had been flooded again following the town’s devastating flooding event in February.

“I was hoping to open on Monday, but all my storage areas went under water again,” Mr Oke said.

Mr Oke’s park has been closed for eight weeks.

“(The February flood) went through everything,” Mr Oke said.

“The cabins, my house, my office, reception, all my sheds, all my tractors and equipment.”

With the Bureau of Meteorology forecasting heavy showers until the end of the week, Mr Oke said he was “hoping” there wasn’t another significant rain event as he aimed to reopen the park by the end of this week.

Cardwell Van Park. Picture: Supplied

But not all hope is lost, Mr Oke said.

In response to the Bruce Highway closures, the Cardwell swimming pool opened to “truckies and stranded travellers” as a place of respite.

In a post shared to Facebook it said “come in for a free shower, a swim or both”.

“Anything to help them through these sort of things,” June Cotter, the pool’s lessee, said.

“They don’t have hot water but at least they’ve got showers and toilets and an area to sit.”

Ms Cotter also opened the pool to stranded visitors during the February flood, and said some nights there were more than 100 visitors.

“My nephew’s a truckie and I found out that he got stuck and people fed him,” she said.

“So that’s why I did it because I thought, well I hope if my nephew’s stuck somewhere, someone’s looking after him. He is family and you want to know they’re safe.”

Queensland Premier David Crisafulli visiting Cardwell in February. Picture: Brendan Radke

Ms Cotter said with the help of pool staff and their families, the Coast Guard and businesses, they were also able to feed the visitors.

“I just opened the facilities,” she said.

“Everybody was helping, even people from the cafes – they had a bit of leftover bread, water and milk and they brought it down. It wasn’t just me. It was a community.”

The Cardwell swimming pool. Picture: Facebook

Ms Cotter said the community response during the February flood reinforced why she loved living in Cardwell; a community of 1300 people located about 180km south of Cairns.

“This town’s been through a lot of heartache … and it’s been very hard for the townspeople here, very depressing for them. But all the different places, the Lions, everybody was supporting,” she said.

“It’s a great little town. I love it here. It’s not a big place. But we all work together.”

Ms Cotter said if rain continues to cause road closures she wouldn’t hesitate to reopen the pool for free.

“We’re hoping that it (the rain) is not going to cut off the roads again,” she said.

“But I’ve got facilities here and if it’s needed, I’ll open up again. It doesn’t worry me.”

Originally published as Cardwell floods again after devastating February event