Flooded towns brace for 270mm deluge as devastating clean-up begins
Far north Queensland residents are bracing for more torrential rain in already inundated regions as they struggle to secure supplies and start the massive clean-up effort.
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Far north Queensland residents are bracing for more torrential rain in already inundated regions with up 270mm possible over the next three days.
The Bureau of Meteorology has upgraded its three-day forecast to predict up to 100mm to fall in regions around Townsville on Wednesday, up to 80mm on Thursday and up to 90mm on Friday.
It comes as flood-ravaged towns like Bluewater and Ingham try desperately to start the clean-up of their waterlogged homes.
While areas further south, including Ayr, Mackay and Airlie Beach were also lashed with heavy rains on Tuesday, with an emergency alert issued for residents in the Burdekin region about 8.30pm.
It warned moderate flooding was likely to impact a major highway in the area.
Moderate flooding was also expected to impact the Bruce Highway at Plantation Creek on Tuesday evening.
Locals were advised travel between Ayr and Home Hill may not be possible from 12am.
It comes as an elderly woman has died in the flood-ravaged community of Ingham – the second death to rock the regional town since the disaster began.
The tight-knit community is facing one of its greatest battles as receding flood waters reveal a trail of devastation and uncertainty when basic amenities will be restored.
An 82-year-old woman was located in floodwaters at Bemerside near Ingham shortly after 11am.
According to police the woman’s body was found in a cane paddock at Fulton Drive.
Initial investigations indicate the woman was last seen by a nearby resident at about 6pm on Monday night inside a two-storey house.
It comes after the death of another woman after the SES boat she was in crashed Sunday morning, and part of a bridge was swept away by floodwaters.
Police confirmed the 63-year-old woman was assisting members of the public through flood waters at Rutledge Street when it struck a tree and flipped.
Further along the decimated Bruce Highway Townsville residents were yesterday returning to their homes after a major flood warning was downgraded to moderate with Premier David Crisafulli declaring the city had “dodged a bullet”.
However, devastating scenes in Ingham saw the town reduced to an Island as flood waters inundated hundreds of homes and businesses, cut power and telecommunications and left supplies of food and fuel scarce.
Diesel ran out completely on Tuesday with huge lines for fuel as desperate locals tried to power their generators as more than 7000 residents were left without power.
In unprecedented scenes, police were standing guard at the entrance to the local Woolworths on Tuesday after more than 200 battered residents turned up for supplies, with police only allowing 20 customers in at a time.
The situation has become so dire members of the Australian Defence Force have mobilised to move into the North Queensland township.
Residents in the small town of Giru, south of Townsville, have started the clean up after severe flooding lashed their community at the weekend.
Giru, which sits by the Haughton River, was completely cut off by floodwater for multiple days and power was cut after the river spilled its banks and inundated the town.
Fast-moving floodwaters raged down the main street and through the homes of residents, including Linda Drysdale who said it was the worst flood she’d ever seen.
“I woke up and I swung my legs out of bed and – water, everywhere,” Mrs Drysdale said.
“I’ve lived here 19 years … worst I’ve ever seen.”
More than 30cm of water came through the back of her home and damaged furniture worth about $12,000.
The resilient resident lost her husband to a heart attack in November, saying it would be a difficult clean-up.
“It’s been very hard, very challenging, but I’m getting there.”
Another Giru local Gary Gudge still had water in his backyard days after the flooding started.
“It was about 2am in the morning and I thought ‘I wonder if that’s rain water or river water’, and it was coming up, running,” Mr Gudge said.
“It just came roaring through the back fence.”
Mr Crisafulli said Townsville had been spared amid warnings of a flood that could have rivalled that in 2019.
“There is no doubt that the city has dodged a bullet, and if you reflect that nearly six years ago to the day, people were picking up the pieces, and to think that in many cases, has been spared is certainly a relief,” Mr Crisafulli said in Townsville on Tuesday.
Townsville disaster group chairman Councillor Andrew Robinson said “the weather has gone in our favour” and the advice was now all residents could return home, including those in Hermit Park, Rosslea and Railway Estate who were earlier advised to hold off on returning.
Telstra regional general manager Rachel Cliffe said the telco had made significant progress restoring services yesterday, with nearly 85 per cent of its mobile sites now back online.
“With support from the Australian Defence Force, we were able to chopper to a region inaccessible by road and restore numerous mobile sites this afternoon, including in Cardwell, Cooktown and in the Torres Strait,” she said.
“Our teams across the region are also continuing to do all they can to access other affected sites when it’s safe to do so, particularly in and around Ingham, and bring services back online as quickly as possible.
Woolworths confirmed that all Far North Queensland stores were now open.
A spokesman said several truckloads of stock had arrived at the Townsville Distribution Centre to restock local stores between Townsville and Mackay.
However, truck access to stores to the north via Ingham and up to Mossman remains cut-off.
“We are working with local suppliers across milk, fruit, veg and meat to co-ordinate deliveries direct to our stores where possible, and we remain in constant contact with the state government and emergency services to prioritise deliveries for the impacted areas,” the spokesman said.
said there has been a call to action for interstate help, with assistance expected to arrive up north by the end of the week.
“Obviously, the road situation makes it really, really difficult, but they are at the ready, and what they will do is provide a break.
“In the last little while, since I’ve been here, I’ve just looked into the eyes of some of the people, whether they’re in the in the headquarters here, or police at the front line, or the fireys, or the SES, or the ambos, and you can tell they’re getting tired,” he said.
Ingham remains the biggest challenge, Mr Crisafulli reiterated, with just one supermarket back online.
He said the attention right now was on aerial support, with key assets such as the hospital coming back online on Monday night. “There is a handful of key services like the supermarket and fuel stations, but our immediate focus is on airlifting generators, and we’re most grateful for the support of the Australian Defence Force to be able to get into there and provide power to some of those critical issues, things like additional fuel supply, things like the water treatment plant which is going to be going to be really, really key part of the recovery.
“The second element is the substation, and the substation that has been offline is the reason why nearly 7000 households have been without power, and have been for some time.
“Workers are getting in on the ground to have a look at what the extent of that damage is, and then an assessment will be made about how quickly that can be repaired, or if there needs to be an alternate in that place as well.”
Ergon Energy says it is focusing their energy on Ingham, as customers in Giru and Cardwell begin to see power restored.
An Ergon spokesman said crews left Townsville on Tuesday morning to begin aerial fault-finding patrols over Ingham and surrounding areas, but were forced to pause due to poor weather conditions.
Accurate restoration timelines cannot be provided until Ergon teams are able to assess the damage.
Deputy Leader for the Katter’s Australian Party and member for Hinchinbrook Nick Dametto said Ingham was “in trouble right now” with hundreds of homes inundated.
After flying in by chopper on Monday afternoon, Mr Dametto said the town was going to need a lending hand after being cut off for several days.
“(There are) hundreds of houses inundated. Plus we’ve lost electricity to at least 6000 houses across the Hinchinbrook Shire, and we’ve lost telecommunications.
“It’s pretty dire out there at the moment,” he said.
Mr Dametto said while water began to recede on Monday night, it seemed to be holding during the day and not dropping at a fast pace.
The ADF are set to fly in a generator to run the towns water supply on Tuesday – if weather permits – however there is no timeline for the power to be restored to the town which has already been out for two and a half days.
It comes after the Bruce Highway was washed away at Ollera Creek, north of Townsville, inhibiting any access to vital food and supplies.
When asked about repairs to the Bruce Highway, the Premier said this disaster is an example about how “ridiculous” the state of the Bruce Highway is.
Mr Crisafulli did not go into detail on the timeline of fixing the cut off section of the Bruce Highway.
“You’ve got so many thousands of people at the mercy of one road. It’s one road that hasn’t had the investment in for generations,” he said.
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