{"id":407197,"date":"2026-01-12T00:06:22","date_gmt":"2026-01-12T00:06:22","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/407197\/"},"modified":"2026-01-12T00:06:22","modified_gmt":"2026-01-12T00:06:22","slug":"heavy-rainfall-continues-in-north-and-central-queensland-as-ex-tropical-cyclone-koji-moves-inland","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/407197\/","title":{"rendered":"Heavy rainfall continues in north and central Queensland as ex-Tropical Cyclone Koji moves inland"},"content":{"rendered":"

Heavy rain is again battering north and central Queensland communities as ex-Tropical Cyclone Koji moves inland, with dangerous flash flooding still a risk for the sodden region.<\/p>\n

Several people were rescued from floodwaters on Sunday night and severe weather warnings for “locally intense rainfall” are in place from Mackay to Gladstone and for inland areas on Monday.\u00a0<\/p>\n

The Bureau of Meteorology says six-hourly rain totals of more than 250 millimetres may lead to dangerous and life-threatening flash flooding.\u00a0<\/p>\n

The tropical low crossed the north Queensland coast between Ayr and Bowen about 9am on Sunday after weakening from a category one cyclone.<\/p>\n

Loading…<\/p>\n

The ex-cyclone moved inland west of Proserpine before taking a west-northwesterly track over the northern Central Highlands and Coalfields district overnight.<\/p>\n

Parts of the Mackay hinterland received more than 300mm of rain since Sunday morning as heavy rainfall soaked coastal and inland areas.<\/p>\n

Major flood warnings remain in place for the Georgina River, the Connors-Isaac River and the Flinders River.<\/p>\n

There’s also a flood watch for rivers between Ayr and the Wide Bay and adjacent inland catchments.<\/p>\n

\"A<\/p>\n

Ex-Tropical Cyclone Koji has produced heavy rainfall between Ayr and Mackay. (BOM)<\/p>\n

Flood rescues<\/p>\n

Queensland Premier David Crisafulli expressed “major gratitude” for rescue crews who saved several people stranded in floodwaters overnight.<\/p>\n

A swift-water rescue crew went to the aid of a woman, two children and two dogs in Gracemere, near Rockhampton, about 11.30pm when their vehicle became submerged.<\/p>\n

“It’s times like these you see people helping each other. It really gives you a great sense of fulfilment about the good in people,” Mr Crisafulli said.\u00a0<\/p>\n

“Boats can be replaced, people can’t.”<\/p>\n

In Mackay, a man was rescued after he was swept down the flooded Pioneer River while trying to reach his yacht.<\/p>\n

\"man<\/p>\n

Ross Matheson (left) and his kids witnessed a man being rescued from a flooded Pioneer River in Mackay.\u00a0 (ABC Tropical North: Ben Mihan)<\/p>\n

Onlookers at the River Street boat ramp watched anxiously as the man hopped into an inflatable tender as darkness fell.<\/p>\n

Worried witness Ross Matheson called 000 when the man was swiftly carried downstream.<\/p>\n

“It washed him straight towards the river mouth … he was in a hurry and he was stressing,\u201d Mr Matheson said.<\/p>\n

Marine Rescue Queensland (MRQ) volunteers found the man downstream after he managed to anchor his craft.<\/p>\n

“There was a lot of water moving through the river, so it’s not a safe place to be,” MRQ deputy unit commander David Ugrinic said.<\/p>\n

\"Men<\/p>\n

Residents at Toolakea Beach prepared sandbags on the weekend before the cyclone hit north Queensland.\u00a0 (ABC North Queensland: Baz Ruddick)<\/p>\n

The boatie wasn’t wearing a life jacket and told rescuers he was trying to check his 40-foot yacht.<\/p>\n

“He was just at the mercy of the river and luckily he had an anchor on board, which, to be honest, probably saved his life,” Mr Ugrinic said.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Rain ‘exacerbating’ riverine flooding<\/p>\n

BOM forecaster Miriam Bradbury said the latest rain followed several days of very wet weather, increasing the risks of life-threatening flash flooding.<\/p>\n

“[The rain is] falling on saturated river catchments and further exacerbating that ongoing riverine flooding situation that has already begun to develop,” she said.<\/p>\n

About 3,000 homes were without power, mostly in the Mackay and Whitsundays regions, and the Bruce Highway has reopened.<\/p>\n

\"Queensland<\/p>\n

In an emergency phone Triple Zero<\/p>\n

Winds gusts of up to 113 kilometres per hour were recorded at Hamilton Island as the ex-cyclone approached the mainland yesterday, but winds should continue easing today.<\/p>\n

However, the BOM warned there was an “ongoing risk” of damaging winds if thunderstorms develop.<\/p>\n

“They do still have that potential to tap into those stronger winds and cause a bit of damage,” Ms Bradbury said.<\/p>\n

Risks of landslides, trees falling<\/p>\n

Communities have also been warned wet soil could lead to trees toppling along the north-east tropical coast, with landslips also a risk around steep and hilly terrain.<\/p>\n

The ex-cyclone’s strong winds and rough ocean conditions off the north Queensland coast ripped several boats free of their anchorages yesterday and pushed them to shore.<\/p>\n

\"boat<\/p>\n

Airlie Beach local George Canfield says Koji was “full on”. (ABC News: Jasmine Hines)<\/p>\n

Airlie Beach local and keen yachtsman George Canfield has lived through two cyclones \u2014 Ului and Debbie \u2014 but said Koji had been “full on”.<\/p>\n

Mr Canfield said it was tough to watch other locals’ boats lashed by the severe weather.<\/p>\n

“It’s just sad. We’ve lost a lot but we’re lucky we’ve saved a lot too,” he said.<\/p>\n

\"A<\/p>\n

Several boats broke free of their anchorages off Airlie Beach. (ABC News: Jasmine Hines)<\/p>\n

According to the BOM’s seven-day forecast map, Koji is expected to weaken further and move west and then north-west through the Gulf Country and towards the Northern Territory.<\/p>\n

It could then potentially shift towards northern WA next weekend, where it is a chance of redeveloping into a tropical cyclone if it moves off the coast.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Heavy rain is again battering north and central Queensland communities as ex-Tropical Cyclone Koji moves inland, with dangerous…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":407198,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[4],"tags":[64,63,61838,6884,213908,44,26673,147353,215818],"class_list":["post-407197","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-australia","tag-au","tag-australia","tag-bom","tag-bureau-of-meteorology","tag-cyclone-koji","tag-news","tag-north-queensland","tag-tropical-cyclone","tag-tropical-low-pressure-system"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/407197","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=407197"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/407197\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/407198"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=407197"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=407197"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=407197"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}