Fishermen’s flood rescue could end in charges

Two fishermen were rescued on Tuesday after being swept away in floodwaters in north Queensland and might now face charges over their decision to go fishing during the disaster.

Groper Creek Caravan Park manager Jeanette Garvey rides with Peter Collings in his amphibious Sherp. Picture: Evan Morgan

Two fishermen were rescued on Tuesday after being swept away in floodwaters in north Queensland and might now face charges over their decision to go fishing during the disaster.

The rescues came as another day of torrential rain battered parts of north Queensland, with hard-hit Ingham recording about 85mm between 9am and 6pm.

The fishermen drove into flood waters near Townsville about 9.45pm on Monday and were forced to abandon their vehicle after it became trapped.

One of the men managed to reach a road and was found by Queensland Police at 7am on Tuesday. His friend was located three hours later in bushland and flown out by helicopter.

Police are investigating whether the two should be charged for putting themselves at risk with the region so prone to flooding.

Mr Collings makes a home delivery. Picture: Evan Morgan

QPS acting inspector Graeme Paterson said more than 20 people were involved in the search and rescue. “We’re happy that both people have been recovered safely, but the frustration around events like this is that we had nearly 20 emergency personnel involved in the search and rescue, plus we had to deploy air assets,” he said. “It’s quite an involved process for something that probably didn’t need to occur in the first place.”

So far, two people have lost their lives after nearly two weeks of relentless flooding.

On Tuesday, the Bureau of Meteorology issued a new warning of possible “life-threatening flash flooding” across northern Queensland, with predicted 24-hour rainfall of up to 200mm.

The lengthy monsoonal trough belted the region’s east coast near Townsville, lingering on the coastline from Tully down to Hamilton Island and stretching inland towards Greenvale.

Hard-hit towns of Townsville, Ingham, Palm Island and Cardwell were expected to receive the largest downpours over Tuesday.

An aerial view of the flooding.

Rollingstone, north of Townsville, topped rainfall figures on Monday night with 202mm in the 24 hours to 9am on Tuesday.

The forecast deluge comes after more than 10 days of relentless rain and flooding, with more than two metres falling in a matter of days at several locations.

BOM senior meteorologist Andrew Hines said the prolonged drenching heightened the risk of flash flooding.

“That rain of course is falling on to an extremely saturated part of the country where the rivers are already swollen, so even moderate rainfalls can’t soak into the ground and runs into the river system,” Mr Hines said. “Its leading to very sharp river level rises and the potential for flash flooding.”

On Tuesday, Queensland Premier David Crisafulli said a Disaster Recovery Coordinator will be appointed, and will focus on building infrastructure “to a more resilient standard”, he told 4BC radio. The Premier promised he would “arm-wrestle Canberra” for funding to ensure north Queensland can rebuild damaged roads and buildings to be more flood-resistant.