Queenslanders from the north-east coast to the outback are enduring their fourth day of torrential rain as floodwaters continue to rise in the north-west.
Gulf Country towns Doomadgee, Burketown, Gregory, Normanton, Karumba, Julia Creek and McKinlay are cut off and communities expect to be isolated for up to a week.
A man in his 70s was found dead in a submerged vehicle at Normanton on Tuesday, and authorities have urged caution around floodwaters to prevent further tragedies.
Mount Isa District Acting Superintendent Paul Austin said a police officer had gone into the water when the vehicle was found to check if the driver was alive. Â
He commended the officer’s “very brave actions” in a known crocodile habitat.
“This is a tragic event and just highlights the message that police continue to push out. Don’t drive through floodwaters,” he said, Acting Superintendent Austin said.Â
The Bureau of Meteorology (BOM) said parts of north-west Queensland, including Cloncurry, had received the equivalent of their average annual rainfall in the days since Christmas.
The Bureau of Meteorology’s flood warnings map on Tuesday at 4pm. (Supplied: Bureau of Meteorology)
South Mission Beach and Cowley Beach, near Innisfail, have recorded more than a metre of rain in seven days.
Since 9am yesterday, the BOM has recorded 413 millimetres in Cowley Beach, 418mm in Mourilyan Bore, 249mm in South Mission Beach and 237mm in Innisfail.
Inland at Brinyard Station, north of Julia Creek, 215mm was recorded on Tuesday.
According to the BOM:
There are two severe weather systems active over QueenslandA tropical low is bringing widespread, heavy rainfall over north-west QueenslandEnhanced onshore winds may develop over parts of the north-east coast, coupled with a very humid air mass that could bring the risk of heavy rainfall
Properties have been flooded around north-west Queensland. (Supplied: Jacqueline Curley)
Senior meteorologist Harry Clark said the north-west could see further flash flooding and riverine flooding over the next 24 hours.
“That significant flood risk comes from the fact that we’ve got heavy rainfall that is forecast to fall across already saturated soil and already flooded rivers,” Mr Clark said.
He said the drenching would continue across the northern outback before slowly easing at the weekend.
Heavy rainfall, which may lead to flash flooding, is forecast to continue on Wednesday and possibly into Thursday for parts of the Northern Goldfields and Upper Flinders, North West and Central West districts.
Widespread six-hourly rainfall totals between 40 to 70mm are likely, with isolated falls of 100mm forecast for multiple areas, including around Winton, Evesham Station, Stamford, Aramac, Muttaburra, Selwyn, McKinlay and Corfield.
These conditions also present a risk to cattle and other livestock.
However, for the tropical north-east coast, Mr Clark said it was still a “flip of the coin” as to whether the worst of the system was over.
“If that trough comes ashore, we could certainly see rainfall totals in excess of 200mm quite quickly in that area between Cairns and Townsville,” he said.
“We may have potentially seen the heaviest rainfall already out of this system, but certainly there’s still the risk of further heavy rain over the next few days.”
The Cloncurry River has been flowing into Chinaman Creek Dam. (Supplied: Cloncurry Shire Council)
Heavy rainfall and possible flash flooding are forecast for late Wednesday about the coast and adjacent inland areas from about Townsville to Yarrabah.
Six-hourly rainfall totals between 100 to 180mm are likely, including areas around Townsville, Palm Island, Ingham, Yarrabah, Cardwell, Tully, Rollingstone, Innisfail and Lucinda.
The severe weather is no longer occurring in the Gulf Country district, with the warning cancelled.
The SES has received 70 tasks across the state in the 24 hours to 4am with the majority being for tarping and sandbags jobs, including 33 incidents in the Cassowary Coast LGA, 10 in the Townsville LGA, eight in the Cloncurry LGA, five in the Cairns LGA and three in the Mount Isa LGA.
Road closures and river warnings
The state and federal governments have activated Disaster Recovery Funding Arrangements (DRFA) for five councils in north Queensland.
The Carpentaria, Cloncurry, Flinders, McKinlay and Richmond shire councils can access the funding to provide local government assistance, including clean-up, emergency road repairs, and repairs to essential public assets.
Multiple roads across the state are closed, as is the Mount Isa rail line from Hughenden to Cloncurry.
Roads are partially submerged around Cloncurry, cutting off motorists. (Supplied: Cloncurry Shire Council)
The Bruce Highway is closed both at Seymour River Bridge, north of Ingham, and again at Cardwell near Stoney Creek Road.
The Flinders Highway is closed between Cloncurry and Julia Creek and between Richmond and Julia Creek, but open between Hughenden and Richmond.
The Landsborough Highway remains closed between Cloncurry and Kynuna, and between Kynuna to Winton.
Nearly 50 roads across the state have been closed with high priority alerts to flash flooding, long-term flooding or other hazards, while multiple roads have been closed or partially closed due to flooding.
Transport Minister Brent Mickelberg warned there may be further road closures depending on the rainfall.
“We are expecting king tides later in the week so there may be periods of inundation,” he said.
The SES has been clearing debris and fallen trees in Mission Beach. (ABC Rural: Sophie Johnson)
Premier David Crisafulli said authorities had prepared ahead of the wet season to ensure towns affected by road closures would have enough food supply.
“We pre-positioned a lot of fuel supplies to those isolated communities that live and die on generators,” he said.
“There are a number of key locations where avgas [aviation fuel] has been provided ahead of time.”
More police and State Emergency Service workers are being sent to multiple communities in flood-affected regions.
There is a major flood warning for the Flinders River, with flooding at Walkers Bend, which is expected to remain above the major flood level for the next few days.
There are also multiple moderate flood warnings, including for the Cloncurry River, the Norman River, the Diamantina and Western River and the Georgina River.
There are also general and minor flood warnings covering the Mulgrave, Russell, Tully, Herbert, Bohle, Nicholson, Leichhardt and Gilbert Rivers.
Concerns for livestock
The prolonged heavy rainfall and below-average temperatures have had many north-west graziers concerned that the weather event could be a repeat of the 2019 flood, which led to devastating stock losses.
McKinlay Shire mayor Janine Feegan said early indications suggested the rain was similar or equal to the 2019 event, but not as widespread.
She said cattle losses in the shire could potentially be a few hundred or thousands but graziers would spend today getting more stock to higher ground.
Cloncurry grazier Jacqueline Curley said she felt “sick in the guts” watching floodwaters rise in her paddocks.
“I’m terrified for the calves because we just had a huge calving crop,” she said.
Heavy rainfall around Cloncurry has flooded Gipsy Plains station. (Supplied: Jacqueline Curley)
Ms Curley’s Gipsy Plains property flooded earlier this week, as she recorded 525mm of rain in the 24 hours between Monday and Tuesday.
However, she was hopeful most of her adult cattle had survived.
Cloncurry Shire Mayor Greg Campbell said while it was too early to go out and check paddocks, some residents were “quietly confident” they had not lost as many animals as in 2019.
“The general condition of livestock is markedly different — we didn’t endure 40 days over 40 degrees in the lead-up,” he said.
Cattle on Bow Park station north of Julia Creek search for higher ground. (Supplied: Guy and Deborah Keats)
Tourism affected
Monsoonal rains are expected in Queensland’s tropics, but this deluge has hit during peak holiday season.
Teresa Millwood, the mayor of the Cassowary Coast Regional Council, between Cairns and Townsville, said it was a “big bite” out of the local tourism-dependent economy.
“A lot of people have packed up and left, which is very unfortunate,” Cr Millwood said.
“Hopefully they’ll come back next week when the sun is shining.”
Flooding at Chinaman Creek Dam in Cloncurry. (Supplied: Grace McLauchlan)