Big bird has landed: Search for missing Degarra man continues, Wujal Wujal evacuations resume

Police hold grave concern for an 85 year old missing person in flood-ridden Degarra as evacuations resume for remaining Wujal Wujal residents. See the latest.

Police hold grave concern for an 85 year old missing person in flood-ridden Degarra as they continue rescues and assistance to isolated areas of the Far North.

A broad scale plan to rescue hundreds of flood-affected Far North Queenslanders in a remote Indigenous community was underway on Tuesday morning with fears growing for a second flood fatality.

The Australian Defence Force is providing support to Queensland Fire and Emergency Services (QFES) working in flood-affected areas of Far North Queensland. Picture: Ken Wilson

Relentless rain following Tropical Cyclone Jasper has left around 250 residents in Wujal Wujal, located 170-kilometres north of Cairns, stranded with critical supplies running desperately low.

State Disaster Coordinator Deputy Commissioner Shane Chelepy said police, with the assistance of the Australian Defence Force, were continuing evacuations of the remote Indigenous community today after 97 people were airlifted to Cooktown yesterday.

“We want to complete the evacuation of Wujal Wujal today and support those Wujal Wujal residents as much as we can in Cooktown,” Deputy Commissioner Chelepy said.

“We have police on the ground now engaging with the community to work out how many more people will be evacuated,” he said.

Deputy Commissioner Chelepy said their focus was on resupplying to isolated areas and communities north of the Daintree River such as Cow Bay, Wonga Beach and Daintree Village.

Police Deputy Commissioner Shane Chelepy talks to media at the Disaster Management Press Conference at QFES headquarters in Kedron. Picture Lachie Millard

“We’ve got a lot of isolated communities right across the Far North, we know there’s 35 communities that we started accessing yesterday and we manage to get into about sixteen of those yesterday,” he said.

“I think the isolated communities in those remote areas of the Far North will continue for some time.

“The pleasing news is that everyone’s ok, we don’t have any missing persons from those communities, we don’t have any serious injuries and now we understand the needs of those communities.

“We already started to make arrangement for additional medical supplies and resupply of generator fuel and food and we will continue accessing those communities today.”

Additional support for local council staff and emergency services will also touch down in Cairns today.

“Police, emergency services and council staff have been going hard since Tropical Cyclone Jasper.

“Yesterday we managed to get an additional 57 emergency services personnel into Cairns and we’ve got over a hundred coming in today.

Australian Army soldiers from 51st Battalion, Far North Queensland Regiment, assist personnel from the Queensland Police Swift Water Rescue team and Surf Life Saving Queensland with recovery operations in Cairns' Northern Beaches on 18 December 2023. Picture: ADF

“We’ve now been able to support [local councils] in getting additional council staff into those councils in the north that are very tired, very fatigued because we’ve got a long way to go,” the deputy commissioner said.

He reminded residents who were involved in clean up efforts to be mindful of their safety and take care of fallen power lines and other debris.

Search for missing man continues.

Authorities confirmed a search and rescue operation was launched on Monday afternoon after reports an 85-year-old man from nearby Degarra was missing.

Initial investigations indicate the local man made contact with friends about 10pm on Sunday night and has not been seen or heard from since.

Police were able to access the man’s property, which was destroyed in the floods, and conducted an extensive land and water search but no trace of the man has been found.

Deputy Commissioner Chelepy said he was seriously worried for the missing man’s safety.

“We are continuing our search we have significant aerial resources in that area today,” Commissioner Chelepy said.

“While I still hold hope, I hold also grave concerns given what we’ve seen on the ground.

“It’s devastating in that area, there’s been significant water come through Degarra we’ve seen considerable vegetation damage and damage to properties.

“We urge anyone who knows anything which could assist us to please contact police immediately,” he added.

Wujal Wujal elder Aunty Kathleen Walker said the community feared the worst with crocodiles spotted in floodwaters.

Wujal Wujal, Rossville and Ayton as rivers flood. The Bloomfield has broken its banks – Photo Supplied Facebook

“It’s been a very bad experience for all of us,” Ms Walker told the ABC.

“This is very scary. We (may have) lost one.

“We couldn’t get to a loved one-on-one of the roofs.

“We had no police or SES. We were completely on our own. We had nowhere to go. I couldn’t believe it, seeing all those people’s houses flood too.”

It comes after a man’s body was found dead on Monday though police do not believe it is flood related. It’s understood he suffered from a medical episode.

The Bureau of Meteorology said nearby rain gauges Beesbike and Bairds had recorded 997mm and 1145mm in a 72-hour period from Friday to Monday.

“My niece was ringing. She said ‘Aunty Kathleen, there’s a big crocodile in our backyard.”

The Australian Defence Force deployed two Chinook helicopters and two AW-139s from Townsville on Tuesday morning after heavy rain, debris and floodwaters thwarted previous rescue efforts in Wujal Wujal.

Cook Shire mayor Peter Scott said his community was “ready and willing” to accommodate the evacuees at Cooktown’s disaster shelter.

“We’ve arranged buses to bring them into the evacuation centre,” Mr Scott said.

“There are police and volunteers at the shelter to welcome them there. They’ll be registered when they arrive.

Wujal Wujal, Rossville and Ayton as rivers flood. The Bloomfield has broken its banks – Photo Supplied Facebook

“We understand the Chinooks can carry up to 40 passengers at a time.

“A lot of people are donating sheets and towels and the CWA (Country Women’s Association) has about 250 frozen meals at the ready.”

With the remote community expected to be cut off for an extended period, Mr Scott said further assistance would be required over the coming days.

“A lot of Wujal Wujal residents have family in the region, so we’re speaking with the Department of Communities to see if we can arrange a one-off style payment to families to house some of the evacuees,” he said.

Cook Shire issued a notice for the community to conserve water on Monday but Mr Scott more critical supplies were on their way.

“We’ve still got a problem with our water treatment plant but we hope to have it fixed in the next couple of days,” he said.

“The supermarket and ice works are delivering pallets of water soon.”

The Cooktown airport is still closed to the public.

On Monday, incredible footage emerged of a man found clinging to a tree as floodwaters flowed around him near the Lions Den Hotel.

One resident, Gavin Dear, posted to Facebook saying he and a friend Albert were rescuing people clung to trees along the Annan River near Lions Den.

“Helenvale is a disaster. Rescued a few fellas hanging up in trees,” he wrote.

Originally published as Big bird has landed: Search for missing Degarra man continues, Wujal Wujal evacuations resume