Burketown floods: Residents may be displaced for two weeks

Residents of Burketown have been warned the Gulf town’s flood peak may drag on, leaving them displaced for two weeks.

Residents of Burketown in Queensland’s Gulf Country have been warned the peak of flooding may drag on, while many residents could be displaced for up to two weeks.

Bureau of Meteorology senior forecaster Miriam Bradbury said an extended record flood peak was likely to continue at Burketown during Sunday and into Monday.

“We are expecting a fairly extended period of peak flooding, it’s going to reach the peak and then hold on to that peak most likely into Monday,” she said.

More than 35 homes had been inundated by Sunday morning, all but about 60 people evacuated, water and power cut and sewerage compromised after the region was pelted by a year’s worth of rain in a matter of days.

About 90 people were evacuated from Burketown as of late Saturday.

Evacuees were taken to nearby Doomadgee, or flown to Mount Isa, more than 300km away.

Burketown Pub manager Melissa Looker said the community had started to pull together.

“It’s a great little community, they always pull together, there’s still smiling faces, there’s also heartbreak and its only going to get worse when they return to the properties and see the devastation,” she said.

Streets awash in Burketown. Picture: Queensland Police Service

“But we are doing OK, there’s about 60 of us still in town. Power was cut to many of the houses but the pub still has power.

“No one is really sure what to expect, there’s so much uncertainty with the water levels. We had one of the employees that had a property out of town and they’ve never had floodwater, and it got to the roof.”

The pub remained open the whole time helping those who were displaced and feeding those who needed help. But some residents who were evacuated were left worrying about their properties.

“Everyone was evacuated from the caravan park. We were away on leave and our workers were evacuated so we are relying on people that didn’t fly out to keep an eye there,” Burketown Caravan Park owner Jasmine Davis said.

“We haven’t got any control of it and we can’t get in there to do anything.”

While the Albert River was expected to peak in the evening, there wasn’t much rain in the area during the day.

“There is a possibility of some showers and some isolated storms but remaining quite isolated over the next day, it is not expected to have a significant impact on the flooding in those areas,” Ms Bradbury said.

Flooded Burketown from the air. Picture: Queensland Fire and Emergency Services

“That risk of widespread heavy rainfall has eased, although we still could see some localised moderate falls.”

At least 37 properties were inundated by rising floodwaters, with fresh fears the small Burke Shire community could be isolated for up to two weeks.

A police spokesman said 37 houses and two water pumping stations had power switched off due to safety concerns. Remaining Burketown residents may have to compete with more than rising floodwaters, power cuts and sewage overflow, with reports of saltwater crocodiles spotted swimming in the streets.

Burke Shire Mayor Ernie Camp, who evacuated on Saturday, said crocodiles and bull sharks would pose a danger to residents who chose to stay behind.

Mr Camp said his wife and his son’s family were evacuated on Friday, while he and his son stayed at home to protect livestock and pets. He said it was a constant nightmare watching livestock float by.

Premier Annastacia Palaszczuk said the state government had approved disaster relief funding and that community recovery hubs would be established in Camooweal.

Originally published as Burketown floods: Residents may be displaced for two weeks