Flooded residents call for government assistance to be expanded across entire Townsville LGA

A Townsville store owner, facing thousands of dollars in damages after being flooded three times, is urging the government to expand disaster aid citywide to help those left without support.

Cranbrook small business owner Jo Scott is at breaking point.

Within a single week, her shop, Opti Eats, has been inundated by floodwaters three times, leaving her staring down thousands of dollars in losses — and with no government support in sight.

She’s one of many flood-affected residents in Townsville whose suburbs aren’t currently eligible for funding through the Personal Hardship Assistance Scheme.

Now, Ms Scott is urging the government to expand financial aid to the entire Townsville Local Government Area so that hard-hit people like herself aren’t left to fend for themselves.

“I just opened my store last July, and I’m looking at thousands of dollars down the drain after losing all our food and a lot of equipment as well during these floods,” she said.

“Having some assistance would just keep me going — it would mean everything.

“Just being out of that black zone and knowing that we can’t get any help at the moment has been pretty devastating.”

Jo Scott's cafe Opti Eats has been inundated by floodwaters three times, leaving her staring down losses in the tens of thousands of dollars. Picture: Shae Beplate.

Ms Scott said it all began last Friday when the flooding started suddenly and unexpectedly.

“It came in fast, and we weren’t expecting it,” she recounted.

As her staff tried to hold back the rising waters with towels, the situation quickly spiralled out of control.

“We just had to let it run through,” she said, forced to turn off the power and hastily relocate critical equipment like computers and the cash register to higher ground.

The aftermath was devastating. Ms Scott lost a significant amount of food and equipment, with many items made of timber being completely soaked.

Flood waters at Opti Eats in Cranbrook on Thursday. Picture: Supplied

“The first time was the worst,” she explained, as the debris that came with the floodwaters caused further damage, raising the water level and compounding the destruction.

The flooding returned on Sunday morning, and while the sandbags she had set up helped, the water still managed to get inside the shop again.

Thinking the worst was behind her, Ms Scott woke up on Thursday morning to find the floors of her shop once again covered in water after a severe storm triggered flash flooding across Townsville.

“I was not expecting this again and didn’t have the sandbags up,” she said.

“I just want to scream and cry, but that’s not going to help.”

Ms Scott said her business is in the lowest point of the street along Brampton Ave, where she describes the drainage as “very poor,” so water accumulates quickly there when it rains heavily.

Originally published as Flooded residents call for government assistance to be expanded across entire Townsville LGA