Communities in north-west Queensland have been cut off by floodwater after a monsoon trough brought decent rainfall to the region over the weekend.
Key points:
- A “massive” logistical operation is underway to deliver supplies to isolated communities
- Travellers are being urged to stay off the roads
- Despite being cut-off, graziers have welcomed the rain, describing it as a “good flood”
Disaster management groups expect towns will be isolated for several weeks as operations ramp up to deliver supplies into the waterlogged communities.
Meanwhile, the Flinders and Landsborough highways that connect the major outback city of Mount Isa with the Queensland coast will be closed for several days.
The Gulf of Carpentaria recorded the lion’s share of rainfall with 150 millimetres received in Normanton since Friday, adding to the 950mm recorded since December.
Julia Creek saw a total of 130mm since Friday, while McKinlay saw 100mm over the weekend.
Burleigh Station in Richmond saw nearly 100mm fall since Friday, adding to a total of 464mm since January.
Elliot Dunn, the emergency management coordinator for the District Disaster Management Group (DDMG), said it was “good flooding” for the region, which had recorded its strongest start to the wet season in over a decade.
“It’s the first monsoonal pulse we’ve seen … it’s great rain for the graziers,” he said.
“If you can have a good flood, this is a good flood.”
While “not much more” rain is predicted for the region, Mr Dunn has urged travellers to stay off the roads and monitor conditions.
“All of those river systems are so saturated that it doesn’t take much to bring their levels back up,” he said.
“If you don’t need to travel please don’t.
“And if you are [travelling], check the Qld Traffic website and remember; these roads close with a very minimal amount of rain.”
‘Massive operation’ underway
Mr Dunn said the entire Gulf region had been isolated, on and off, for the past eight weeks, with small periods of reprieve that allowed trucks to access communities.
Now, a “massive logistical operation” will focus on getting supplies into towns like Karumba, Normanton, Mornington Island and Doomadgee, which are expected to be isolated for another several weeks.
“There’s a mixture of trucks, boats, trains and barges that help get a fair amount of food out to these communities,” Mr Dunn said.
Trucks travel as close as possible to Normanton before goods are unloaded onto a boat to be taken up to a bridge to be put on a barge.
The barge travels to Karumba and unloads goods before going over to Normanton.
“Burketown is looking, this week, at whether they need to get a truck in or fly supplies in,” Mr Dunn said.
Drivers bearing the brunt
The Hawkins Transport depot in Normanton is home to a fleet of trucks that service all the communities in the gulf.
Owner Brad Hawkins says drivers are having a tough job navigating roads and several have become stranded in remote communities.
“We’ve got a truck that took supplies into Doomadgee that is stuck in Gregory at the moment,” he said.
“There’s also a shipment of fresh fish that we’ve trucked from Darwin, trying to get it to Brisbane, and my driver is stuck in Cloncurry at the moment.”
Trucks have also been waiting in Julia Creek for roads to reopen, Mr Hawkins said.
“These poor fellas have to sit in their trucks and be ready to go at any moment,” he said.
“They can’t really head off to a pub and relax, they’ve got to be ready to.”
‘Perfect’ grazing weather
Near Burketown, Floraville Downs Station manager Kylie Camp said the property had received about 950mm since Christmas Eve.
That surpasses the usual 600mm it receives for the entire wet season.
Ms Camp said the steady rain, paired with sunny days, made for “perfect” grazing weather.
“It’s fallen really well, so even though the river is flooding, it hasn’t affected paddocks or infrastructure,” she said.
“It’s not been a damaging wet, it’s been a really useful wet.”
