{"id":496567,"date":"2026-02-22T10:17:25","date_gmt":"2026-02-22T10:17:25","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/496567\/"},"modified":"2026-02-22T10:17:25","modified_gmt":"2026-02-22T10:17:25","slug":"eungella-residents-want-an-alternative-exit-after-cyclone-koji-cuts-the-range-road-again","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/496567\/","title":{"rendered":"Eungella residents want an alternative exit after Cyclone Koji cuts the range road again"},"content":{"rendered":"

After Tropical Cyclone Koji in mid-January, the Mackay-Eungella Range Road was completely cut off for the second time in three years.<\/p>\n

Snaking up the cloud-capped slopes, the road is the only all-vehicle, sealed access point for the Eungella community.<\/p>\n

When the range closes, access to medicine, food and the outside world is lost, with the only alternative route requiring a four-wheel drive vehicle.<\/p>\n

‘It just did not stop raining’<\/p>\n

With a population of 200 people, Eungella lies in Australia’s longest continuous stretch of subtropical rainforest.<\/p>\n

In the past 16 years, Tess Ford, the manager of the Eungella Chalet, has seen floods, fires and storms. The hotel has often provided refuge and a temporary home for those who have lost theirs.<\/p>\n

\"A<\/p>\n

Tess Ford took in visitors and locals alike who were affected by Cyclone Koji in 2026. (ABC News: Yasmine Wright Gittins)<\/p>\n

When hit on January 11, Ms Ford said, “It just did not stop raining.”<\/p>\n

The Bureau of Meteorology recorded 292 millimetres of rain in Eungella that day.<\/p>\n

\"An<\/p>\n

The Eungella chalet was built in 1933 and is an iconic landmark in Eungella. (ABC News: Yasmine Wright Gittins)<\/p>\n

Ms Ford said being isolated by the cut-off range was always worrying.<\/p>\n

“If someone is drastically ill, you can always get a [helicopter] back in,” she said.<\/p>\n

“But that can be extremely dangerous in the sense that everything’s clouded in.”<\/p>\n

The most recent range closure lasted three days, but in 2023, the community went without supplies for nearly eight<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Giving birth in a storm\"Rocks<\/p>\n

The Eungella Range Road was cut after a landslip caused by intense rainfall in the region in 2023. (Supplied: Mackay Regional Council)<\/p>\n

Angelique McKay was 38 weeks pregnant when torrential rain hit Eungella in 2023.<\/p>\n

When Ms McKay went into labour in the middle of the night, the range was blocked by debris.<\/p>\n

“The [ambulance] was at the bottom of the range and [they] said, ‘We can’t get to you. The range is out,'” she said.<\/p>\n

With no other option, Ms McKay gave birth<\/a> in the lounge room of the town’s State Emergency Service officer.<\/p>\n

When the range went out again earlier this year, the memories flooded back.<\/p>\n

“We were gobsmacked,” Ms McKay said.<\/p>\n

“We thought maybe, considering all the construction and the work that they’ve done previously, that maybe it wouldn’t happen.”<\/p>\n

\"A<\/p>\n

Angelique McKay with three-year-old Hayley “Raindrop”, who was born on the mountain after heavy rain cut them off from the hospital in Mackay. (ABC News: Yasmine Wright Gittins)<\/p>\n

While she no longer lives in Eungella, she worries about those who do.<\/p>\n

“That road’s their only lifeline,” she said.<\/p>\n

“We need a different lifeline; we need another way out.”<\/p>\n

Calls for improvements<\/p>\n

The Eungella Range Road is cut into exposed granite rock and deep red volcanic soils, which become unstable in severe weather.<\/p>\n

\"Utes<\/p>\n

Work continues to repair the Eungella Range Road and restore full access. (ABC News: Yasmine Wright Gittins)<\/p>\n

Its recent closure has reignited calls for it to be improved.<\/p>\n

During the clean-up after Koji, Queensland Premier David Crisafulli told press the road should be rebuilt better.<\/p>\n

“It shouldn’t be just repaired to the same standard; it’s got to be strengthened,” he said.<\/p>\n

The issue is front of mind for Jo Freegard, the president of the Eungella Community Development Association.<\/p>\n

“The focus moving forward for all levels of government needs to be an alternative access route for us,” she said.<\/p>\n

\"A<\/p>\n

Jo Freegard is the president of the Eungella Community Development Association. (ABC News: Yasmine Wright Gittins)<\/p>\n

Ms Freegard said while the back four-wheel-drive track adds time to the journey to Mackay, it could reduce how long the community remained isolated during disasters.<\/p>\n

“Even in heavy, heavy rain, within two or three days, the creeks are down,” she said.<\/p>\n

“With a bit of an upgrade, it would be passable for everybody.”<\/p>\n

Mayor Greg Williamson confirmed that the Mackay Regional Council was considering plans for the back road.<\/p>\n

“It requires a lot of money to make that a trafficable road \u2026 [but] we understand that a secondary connection that is usable by all traffic is actually vital for Eungella in these times,” he said.<\/p>\n

Community spirit<\/p>\n

The community is still reeling from past disasters, and Ms McKay’s mother, Shona Quick, knows how frustrating it is to keep starting again.<\/p>\n

In 2017, rain from Cyclone Debbie leaked into her ceiling and spread mould, ruining her furniture.<\/p>\n

Then came the fires in 2018<\/a>, with firefighters narrowly saving her property.<\/p>\n

“Community spirit was what held us together,” she said.<\/p>\n

\"A<\/p>\n

Shona Quick has endured a fire, flood and storm in Eungella. (ABC News: Yasmine Wright Gittins)<\/p>\n

This year’s rain brought more damage. Water poured into her home, destroying her flooring and shorting out her oven.<\/p>\n

Living on a disability pension in a remote community, Ms Quick said recovery was slow and costly.<\/p>\n

“There are a lot of people who won’t recover from this at all,” she said, adding that the repeated road closures took a toll on the community’s resilience.<\/p>\n

“Why, three years later, have we not had a project proposed for an emergency road in and out when the range collapses?” she said.<\/p>\n

Open for business<\/p>\n

For now, the range road is partially open again, and the Department of Transport and Main Roads says it is “working to restore full access safely”.<\/p>\n

However, the way forward for the back road remains uncertain, falling under the domain of local councils.<\/p>\n

But with the sun shining and the hum of rainforest life returning, residents say Eungella is well and truly open for business.<\/p>\n

\"A<\/p>\n

The Eungella township overlooks the Pioneer Valley, with Mackay in the far distance. (ABC News: Yasmine Wright Gittins)<\/p>\n

“Spot a platypus, grab a beer, check out the view, have a big crumb steak,” Ms Ford said.<\/p>\n

“Come and stay the night. Have a restful sleep in the high altitude and calm of Eungella.”<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"After Tropical Cyclone Koji in mid-January, the Mackay-Eungella Range Road was completely cut off for the second time…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":496568,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[22],"tags":[250138,64,63,213908,75,250137,250140,128,250139],"class_list":{"0":"post-496567","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-environment","8":"tag-angelique-mckay","9":"tag-au","10":"tag-australia","11":"tag-cyclone-koji","12":"tag-environment","13":"tag-eungella-range-road","14":"tag-jo-freegard","15":"tag-science","16":"tag-tess-ford"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/496567","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=496567"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/496567\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/496568"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=496567"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=496567"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=496567"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}