Plans are afoot to evacuate the town of Wujal Wujal as record rainfall and dangerous flooding continues to impact Far North Queensland.
Key points:
- Nine people who were trapped on a rooftop in Wujal Wujal have moved to higher ground
- Cairns Airport to remain closed after record rainfall in the city
- Flood evacuations are continuing, with major road damage hampering rescue efforts
Nine people who were trapped on the roof of the Wujal Wujal hospital have moved to higher ground, but Premier Steven Miles says the entire town will need to be moved.
“Agencies are working across government … to work out how to do that, to safely get the community of Wujal Wujal to Cooktown, to the PCYC there,” he said.
“Intense rainfall is expected to continue, though it has eased in some locations. There is a risk of ongoing showers and storms throughout the day and [we] will need to monitor how that impacts on river levels and flooding.”
Shortly before 3pm, Wujal Wujal Aboriginal Shire Council posted on Facebook saying rescue chopper had been unable to get through to the town due to the wet weather.
Just before 2pm, the Bureau of Meteorology (BOM) cancelled the severe weather warning for the North Tropical Coast and Tablelands.
But scattered showers are expected to continue across the tropical north.
The Captain Cook Highway remains closes between Port Douglas and Cairns.
But Cairns Airport, which had been shut down by flooding over the tarmac, has been cleared today.
Late this afternoon, an airport spokesperson said it was now up to airlines to decide when flights could restart.
“The runway is now clear and the runway lighting is operational, so the aerodrome is serviceable for aircraft movements,” the spokesperson said.
Earlier, Queensland Police Commissioner Katarina Carroll said the volume of water seen during this flood event has been “devastating”.
“Thankfully we have not seen any deaths or serious injuries as a result of this event,” she said.
She said the nine people who were stuck on the roof of the hospital evacuated when the waters slightly receded.
Deputy Commissioner Shane Chelepy said they have engaged with the Australian Defence Force for assistance.
“Most of those communities are totally isolated …. the water is moving so fast in that area. Wujal Wujal received over 260mm of rain overnight alone,” he said.
The SES has received more than 1,000 requests for assistance in the past 24 hours, while Fire and Rescue Service swift water firefighters have responded to more than 370 call outs, Queensland Fire and Emergency Services said.
Mr Miles said HMAS Cairns, plus “every other boat we could find in Cairns” has been helping with rescues overnight.
‘Just an extreme amount of water’
In the Daintree, residents have been isolated for days, stranded by floodwaters over Stewart Creek Road since Cyclone Jasper hit on Wednesday.
Tony Bartels said there was a “good size” landslide overnight, but thankfully most homes escaped serious damage.
“Totally, totally underwater, it’s the highest anyone’s ever seen it over this end,” he said.
“Just an extreme amount of water.”
Holloway’s Beach resident Dan Bateman has lost his home, evacuating to a neighbour’s rooftop by boat overnight.
“We could see how fast the water was flowing. We had to dodge fridges floating past, big branches — at one point, someone said there was a cow coming down the road,” he said.
He said he waited for several hours with his wife, his dog and 30 other people in pouring rain for rescue boats to arrive.
“The rain was torrential. Having to huddle, quite a few people didn’t have rain jackets, just vests and shorts. You could see them shivering, but everyone was helping each other,” he said.
In Ingham, residents woke to find a large crocodile in a swollen drain at the centre of town.
The highest rainfall in the last 20 hours to 5am was 654mm at Yandilll, but a number of gauges have surpassed the 600mm mark.
“For Cairns it’s exceeding the 1977 flood event and there’s been major flooding over the Barron River and … the Daintree,” senior meteorologist Sarah Scully said.
The previous record for the Daintree River was 12.6 metres — that 2019 record was broken with a peak of 15 metres.
Ms Scully said flood warnings were still in place from Hopevale to south of Cairns with six-hourly totals of 300mm expected north of Wujal Wujal.
Meanwhile, rain in Cairns and Cooktown has finally eased.
Totals of up to 820mm of rain were observed in the Daintree River catchment since 9am Sunday.
Cairns Regional Council Mayor Terry James said council was urgently working to ensure the city does not run out of treated water.
“We want people to conserve water … It is just a race against time.
“Emergency use is drinking only. Try not to unfortunately flush your toilets … grab some rain from outside to flush the toilet if need be.”
Mr James said reports on social media about dams breaking were false.
“Absolutely no concern about the dam failing whatsoever … it is just water over the spillway,” he said.
Approximately 14,000 homes are still without power in the region.
Ergon Energy spokeswoman Emma Oliveri said power had been switched off to low-lying areas.
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