Tempers rise amid curbs on water use

TEMPERS are flaring among frustrated and exhausted Townsville residents who have been told to immediately cut back on water use.

TEMPERS are flaring among frustrated and exhausted Townsville residents who have been told to immediately cut back on water use while dealing with up to another week without electricity.

As some locals face their seventh day without power in the middle of summer, the Townsville Local Disaster Management Group yesterday pleaded with residents who do have water to curb their usage as some suburbs "face critical water supply problems" due to power outages.

Food is still a problem in north Queensland's biggest city, with many restaurants and supermarkets able to get only limited stock, others closed and shortages of milk, vegetables and other foods.

In the worst-hit towns of Cardwell, Tully and Mission Beach, many residents were without power and phones yesterday, and have been forced to boil drinking water. Residents are collecting free bottled water and ice from several locations.

A barge arrived in the Mourilyan Harbour, south of Innisfail, carrying generators, transformers, wire and other equipment to rebuild the electricity network along the Cassowary Coast, the site of the worst-affected towns.

At Port Hinchinbrook marina yesterday, three cranes were lifting destroyed yachts into dry dock.

Townsville Mayor Les Tyrell was forced to appeal to the city's 180,000 residents to be calm as authorities worked to restore power. "Not having power since last Thursday is starting to wear thin on a number of people in the community," he said.

"I understand that people are getting frustrated but it's something that we can only wait for Ergon (Energy) to get to."

Altogether, the utility has restored power to 125,000 customers affected by Cyclone Yasi, with 56,944 still without power across the region. The cyclone is also hurting small businesses in Townsville, especially restaurants and cafes, which not only had to dump thousands of dollars worth of stock, but were also experiencing problems getting produce in the wake of the Brisbane floods.

Additional reporting: Michael McKenna