Coastal Queenslanders warned of potential tropical cyclone and spike in flood-related disease
Coastal Queenslanders are being warned to watch for tropical cyclone activity as deaths from a flood-related disease reach four.
A flood-related disease has killed four people in far-north Queensland this year as the region braces for a potential cyclone.
Thousands of coastal residents across the state are monitoring a potential cyclone forming 400km off Queensland’s north-east coast near Cairns, north of Townsville.
The wild weather comes as Cairns faces rising deaths from soil-borne disease melioidosis, with cases spiking after weeks of heavy rain in the region.
Bureau of Meteorology forecaster Jonathan How said there was a high chance that a tropical low could strengthen over the weekend and turn into a tropical cyclone by Monday.
“By early next week it’s likely this system will move eastward away from Queensland’s coast,” he said.
“But from the middle of next week it’s possible that it will drift south towards the coast of south east Queensland.
“Our warning to all Queenslanders living on the coast is to keep an eye on the latest tropical cyclone outlook.”
Mr How said the coastal stretch between Mackay, south of Townsville to Cairns could expect to be lashed with showers and strong winds over the weekend.
The cyclone warning comes just weeks after record-breaking flooding ravaged parts of north Queensland, dumping up to two metres of rainfall in areas around Townsville.
Tropical Public Health Services director Jacqueline Murdoch is now alerting the region of surging case numbers of flood-related disease.
“So far this year, we are seeing more than four times the average cases of melioidosis (compared with the same time period between 2020 to 2024).”
“We recorded 41 cases of melioidosis within the Cairns region since 1 January 2025,” she said.
“This, sadly, includes four deaths.
“Melioidosis is a serious disease found in ground water and soil, it can cause death in up to 20 per cent of treated cases and is commonly associated with heavy rainfall events.”
The disease is rarely contracted by healthy adults and is more commonly developed in the elderly and immunocompromised.
Dr Murdoch said the Cairns and Hinterland Hospital and Health Service were still investigating the cause of the local melioidosis spike.
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