Cyclone Kirrily as it happened, January 26

Thanks for joining us today. That’s where we’ll leave our live updates on the thankfully now ex-Tropical Cyclone Kirrily.

While there was some damage to property, roads and thousands of homes still without power, north Queenslanders were spared any significant danger from the storm.

In the Townsville suburb of Kelso, Tropical Cyclone Kirrily brought down power lines and trees, crushing two cars.Credit: Queensland Police Service

Bureau of Meteorology Brisbane manager Matthew Collopy said the remnants of the ex-tropical cyclone were moving west in the coming days through central and western parts of Queensland.

Federal Emergency Management Minister Murray Watt said no injuries or deaths had been reported.

In addition to possible further rainfall, Premier Steven Miles confirmed 64,000 households still were without power.

Further south, Brisbane is expected to have possible showers on Saturday with a 40 per cent chance of thunderstorm. Sunday has a high 80 per cent chance of showers with the potential of a thunderstorm and light winds in the afternoon.

Disaster assistance has been made available to four local governments in cyclone-affected north Queensland.

Townsville City, Burdekin Shire, Palm Island Aboriginal Shire and Hinchinbrook Shire councils will be able to access state and federal funding to assist in the clean-up.

“North Queenslanders yet again face the task of mopping up following a tropical cyclone and the Australian and Queensland governments are here to support them in that time of need,” Federal Emergency Management Minister Murray Watt said.

“Activating DRFA [Disaster Recovery Funding Arrangements] assistance for impacted councils is the first step on the road to recovery and will help with immediate response efforts.

“We have the greatest admiration for the resilience of north Queenslanders and the way they prepare for and respond to a crisis and they can be sure our support will not waver as they recover from this latest disaster.”

Asked about the possibility of another cyclone threatening Queensland in the near future, Premier Steven Miles says he would have to defer to experts.

“I don’t know what’s going to happen next week and I also don’t have the Lotto numbers,” he says, before handing the floor to the Bureau of Meteorology.

The bureau’s Matthew Collopy says they are monitoring the long-range forecast very closely.

“It does appear that through the latter part of next week, there is some potential to see some more heavy rainfall, but that’s normal for this time of year,” he said.

Energy Minister Mick de Brenni says there has been a lot of damage to the local electricity distribution network, much of it in the connection between individual households and street powerlines.

“The latest figures indicate that there are around 64,000 homes and businesses without connection, that number is likely to increase,” he says.

“The reason that’s going to go up before it comes down is that those crews are out assessing the damage and they’re finding vegetation trees onto powerlines and power poles.”

De Brenni says it could take a few days to come up with a restoration plan, just as it did with the Christmas storms in south-east Queensland.

But there is a silver lining.

“The good news is, the transmission network is intact,” de Brenni says.

Steven Miles was a relieved Queensland premier on Friday morning as he provided an update on Tropical Cyclone Kirrily.

“It’s been a really tense night overnight for many people in the state’s north, but they are waking up with a sense of relief,” he said.

Palm trees knocked down by Tropical Cyclone Kirrily pulled up the footpath.Credit: North Queensland West Season Pictures and Video

“Yesterday, we said we were preparing for the worst but hoping for the best and, largely, that seems to be what has happened.

“The warnings and advice was heeded. People did what we asked of them, and I would like to thank them for that.

“It’s incredibly important and as a result of their efforts, despite that tense night, no lives were lost.”

Miles said there had been “minimal” property damage, but biggest impact had been on the energy network, with 64,000 households still without power.

“The threat is not over, though,” he said.

“The bureau [of meteorology] is still advising that there is a lot of rain still to come and that the risk of flooding remains high, so we’re not out of the woods.”

Queensland police and emergency services officers have urged residents to stay off the roads until electricity crews can assess the dangers of fallen and live powerlines.

With more than 50,000 properties without power, Ergon crews needed to wait for conditions to clear on Friday morning before the extent of the damage could be determined.

“There’s a lot of damage in terms of trees down and power lines down,” Queensland Fire and Emergency Services acting commissioner Steven Smith told Today.

A fallen powerline on the footpath and road in the wake of Tropical Cyclone Kirrily.Credit: Queensland Police Service

Ergon says the priority is to reconnect emergency services, hospitals, schools and critical infrastructure. Residents have been told to conserve water due to water treatment plants being offline.

Townsville Airport remained shut as of 8am on Friday, long-distance train services were suspended, and some roads were blocked due to hazards.

Federal Emergency Management Minister Murray Watt said no injuries or deaths had been reported.

The Townsville Disaster Management Group has issued a “watch and act” emergency alert for the city.

“Residents are urged to conserve water now,” Queensland Fire and Emergency Services said.

“Extensive power outages are affecting water sites across Townsville due to the impacts of ex-tropical cyclone Kirrily. Work is under way to address the situation.”

Ex-tropical cyclone Kirrily has weakened significantly since crossing the coast north of Townsville overnight, but wind gusts of up to 85km/h can still be expected.

Latest Bureau of Meteorology advice has the tropical low about 170 kilometres south-west of Townsville and 125 kilometres north-west of Charters Towers.

Ex-tropical cyclone Kirrily after crossing the Queensland coast.Credit: Bureau of Meteorology

It was moving south-west at 24km/h.

“Ex-tropical cyclone Kirrily will track further inland today and over the weekend, resulting in heavy to intense rain and possible damaging winds to parts of the northern interior and western Queensland,” the bureau said.

Cyclone Kirrily has been downgraded to a tropical low after crossing the Queensland coast north-west of Townsville as one of the most powerful systems seen in the north.

However, the Bureau of Meteorology says it could still bring strong winds and heavy rain as it moves inland.

Tropical Cyclone Kirrily brought heavy rain to north Queensland, with the flood risk extending to areas further west.Credit: Bureau of Meteorology

“It will carry a lot of that moisture with it, gradually pushing it through central and then more western parts of Queensland,” senior meteorologist Miriam Bradbury said.

Kirrily approached the coast on Thursday night as a severe category 3 system, producing gusts of up to 170km/h.

Its intensity slipped to category 2 just before making landfall about 10pm and eased to a category 1 system after moving inland, with maximum gusts of 120km/h about midnight.