Search for two men lost in flood waters continues

Hoses, brooms and rakes are used to scrape mud and debris from waterlogged homes as the search continues for two missing men.

Flooding in Townsville. Picture QFES.

Floodwater across Townsville has receded as residents return home to begin a massive clean-up operation.

Hoses, brooms and rakes are being used to scrape mud and debris from driveways as people try to move waterlogged furniture into the street.

Residents in Bluewater to Townsville’s north were warned of flash flooding overnight as heavy rain dumped more than 100mm in an hour.

But the monsoonal rain that has battered the region for more than a week has eased today and the trough that generated it has moved southward towards Mackay.

New figures show that 1852mm fell in Bluewater over the past seven days, with 1150mm recorded in the Townsville CBD.

While most areas are now accessible, some affected residents remain in evacuation centres throughout the city.

The dam has now fallen back to 203 per cent but Townsville Mayor Jenny Hill warns the city is not yet out of the woods despitethe weather system moving slowly southwards.

“We are hearing from the Bureau of Meteorology that it could trip north again so we are asking people to remain vigilant,” she has warned.

Swift-water rescue crews had to rescue a man from the roof of his car at Bluewater overnight, after his car was swept away.

And police are still searching for two men, Hughie Morton, 21, and Troy Mathieson, 23, who were last seen on Monday morningnear flood waters in the Townsville suburb of Aitkenvale.

More than 1000 people remain holed up in evacuation centres and authorities are waiting to inspect hard-hit suburbs to determinehow many homes and businesses have flooded.

Prime Minister Scott Morrison has flown into Townsville and will be visiting a refuge centre set up at Ignatius Park College.

At a press conference, Mr Morrison said the federal government is approving “every request” asked of it to help flood affected communities in North Queensland.

Mr Morrison said thousands of residents in the city were in for a big shock as the waters receded and they returned home.

He said it was because of the tireless work of Australian Defence Force personnel and emergency crews there were no confirmed reports of deaths related to the flooding.

“The fact that people are safe today here in Townsville I think is an

extraordinary achievement,” he said.

Mr Morrison said government assistance had been made immediately available.

“There will be tens of millions spent here in Townsville to help the community get back on its feet, just in those payments alone,” he said.

“Every request that is being made of us is being approved quickly.”

The Prime Minister said he had given the defence force approval to assist with airlifts of food and supplies into cut-off regions, including Cairns.

Federal and state government disaster assistance through the jointly-funded Disaster Recovery Funding Arrangements has been extended to the western community of Cloncurry, near Mount Isa, and small business assistance is available in Townsville.

Assistant Minister for Home Affairs Linda Reynolds said the monsoon trough would continue to produce record rainfall and subsequent flooding throughout North Queensland.

“Through the DRFA, we are now providing assistance to Cloncurry Shire Council to help cover the cost of clean-up and repairs associated with the floods and to help residents recover,” she said.

“Townsville is at the centre of this disaster event so we are pleased to be able to provide assistance to small businesses who have suffered losses because of this event.

“In addition, personal hardship assistance payments and essential services reconnection grants are now available across the entire Townsville Local Government Area.”

Queensland Minister for Fire and Emergency Services Craig Crawford said impacted small businesses in Townsville could now access concessional loans of up to $250,000, and essential working capital loans of up to $100,000.

“Most importantly for now, we ask people that could be impacted by the rainfall and flooding to listen to authorities, listen to the warnings, plan ahead and take the appropriate action to ensure the safety of your family,” Mr Crawford said.

DRFA assistance is now available in 12 local council areas in northern Queensland: Burdekin, Cairns, Charters Towers, Cloncurry, Cook, Douglas, Hope Vale, Palm Island, Richmond, Townsville, Whitsunday and Wujal Wujal.

Footage shows scale of floods

Drone footage has been released showing the scale of the devastating floods in Townsville as the search for two men lost in flood waters continues ahead of more torrential rain which has sparked fresh emergency alerts in four Queensland communities.

With the flood crisis entering its 11th day, residents have been urged to head to higher ground as forecasters predict up to 268mm of rainfall to come on top of the record-breaking 1134mm in the North Queensland city.

Police said they fear 23-year-old Troy Mathieson and 21-year-old Hughie Morton may have been washed away after fleeing the scene of an alleged looting on Ross River Road in Townsville on Monday morning.

“There is a possibility that they have entered flowing water near the Dan Murphy’s,” Townsville Police District Duty Officer Ian Wilkie said in a press conference yesterday.

Troy Mathieson, 25, and Hughie Morton, 20, missing in Townsville's floodwaters. Picture: Supplied

The monsoon trough that’s flooded large swathes of the city unleashed another deluge overnight, with Bluewater, Bluewater Park, Toolakea Beach and Saunders Beach again at risk of flash flooding. An emergency alert flood message was issued to residents at 12.30am on Tuesday morning after Upper Bluewater was hit with another 356mm of rain in the past 24 hours, with 200mm of that dumped in just two hours this morning.

The Bureau of Meteorology released drone footage taken by Charters Towers Regional Council capturing the extent of the flooding of the Burdekin River, west of Townsville.

Drone vision of the Burdekin River in flood over Macrossan Bridge, west of #Townsville—taken by Charters Towers Regional Council. There are numerous warnings in effect around the region: Stay up to date https://t.co/CQJkcaE1rm. @QldFES #TownsvilleFloods #BigWet #QldFloods pic.twitter.com/O8SCmOuTcr

— Bureau of Meteorology, Queensland (@BOM_Qld) February 4, 2019

Emergency crews continue to help at-risk residents leave their homes, with one driver in Bluewater lucky to escape after being rescued from the roof his car that was swept away.

While the water levels in the Ross River Dam have reduced for now, Townsville Council has warned residents in the surrounding areas to move away from riverbanks and get to higher ground.

More than 20 local roads in the Burdekin area, west of Townsville, remains closed as a weather warning remains in place as flooding of the Macrossan Bridge continues.

A Bureau of Meteorology spokesman today said the weather situation continues to be similar to what they have seen in the last few days.

“The heaviest rainfall is concentrated around Townsville, there is a slight movement of heavier rainfall towards Mackay,” the spokesman told The Courier-Mail.

“There is still intense rainfall on the coastal stretch South of Cairns down the coast up to Mackay. That coastal region has seen the most rainfall over the last 24 hours.”

Very heavy rainfall was recorded north of Townsville overnight. Another major #flood peak in Bluewater Creek but thankfully the #RossRiver missed the worst. The focus today shifts southwards to the #CentralCoast . See https://t.co/CVnq6ItA4N for more details pic.twitter.com/1olSfKNTjy

— Bureau of Meteorology, Queensland (@BOM_Qld) February 4, 2019

Townsville Mayor Jenny Hill said overnight rain had thankfully missed the swollen catchment of the Ross River Dam, which has had to release an unprecedented amount of water, exacerbating flooding downstream. As of Tuesday morning, the water level sat at 2m and is expected to remain above the moderate flood level throughout the day.
“Everyone held their breath hopeful that rainfall wouldn’t fall into the Ross River catchment,” Ms Hill said.

“We are not out of the woods yet. If we were to receive high rainfall again in the catchment … the situation could change very quickly.”

At least 1000 people remain holed up in evacuation centres while a plane carrying extra police arrived in Townsville to help hundreds of people to safety.

The disaster bill, already estimated at hundreds of millions of dollars, could rise further as authorities forecast the flood risk was far from over. More than 3200 locals have already applied for disaster relief with many homes underwater and unlivable.

— With AAP