Community warned of flooding as river breaks banks
The northern Queensland community of Halifax is on alert for more flooding as a river breaks its banks after a days-long deluge.
Triple-digit rainfall totals have battered the region for days, just a month after a flood emergency that killed two people and left 30,000 without power.
On Thursday morning, the Lower Herbert River near Halifax rose past the major flood level of 5.5 metres.
Emergency services urged nearby residents to move their vehicles to higher ground as the river broke its banks.
For days, there have been persistent showers and storms across the Lower Herbert and Tropical Coast, with up to 200 millimetres of rain between Townsville and Innisfail each day.
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Ingham, Cardwell and Townsville each had more than 200 millimetres in the 24 hours to Thursday morning. There were 450 millimetres at nearby Cardwell Gap, leading to flash flooding.
Other towns such as Trebonne got 348 millimetres, while flood-weary Ingham copped 267 millimetres.
Ingham was one of the areas hit hardest in the February floods. Two people died in floodwaters that also damaged roads and cut power for days after the nearby Herbert River broke a 1967 record level.
Thursday will be another rainy day for north-east Queensland with the risk of higher falls during the morning.
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The Bureau of Meteorology warned the intense downpours could continue into Friday wherever thunderstorms arrived from the ocean. It said the heavy rainfall has been more persistent than previously forecast.
“This wet period has continued for longer than expected,” meteorologist Miriam Bradbury said.
There are active flood warnings for the Herbert, Bohle and Ross Rivers.
The latest rainfall event has north Queenslanders on edge just a month after they experienced a significant disaster.
“We are exhausted… it is that sense of ‘Oh gosh, here we go again’ and it is emotionally draining,” Townsville acting mayor Ann-Maree Greaney said.
“We were expecting rain but we probably weren’t expecting such a heavy deluge [on Wednesday] morning.”
February was the wettest month in history for some north Queensland towns with Paluma near Townsville getting more than two metres of rain – double what Sydney receives in a year.
Meanwhile, south-east Queensland continues to recover after ex-tropical cyclone Alfred swept across the coast. Some $80 million in disaster relief payments have been made.
– with AAP
