A “wall of water” has smashed north Queensland banana crops, as farmers wait anxiously to assess the damage from the flooding emergency.
Heavy rainfall is continuing around Tully, halfway between Townsville and Cairns, where more than 600mm has fallen since Saturday.
“It came so quick and so fast,” banana grower Leon Collins said.
“It’s major. We had a wall of water come down the river, something we haven’t seen since cyclone Winifred [in 1986].
“We’re completely flooded in, I’ve got 360-degree water views around my house.”
Banana growers say it will be hard to restock supply after significant damage to crops. (ABC News: Conor Byrne)
Mr Collins, who is also the chairman of the Australian Banana Growers Council, said farmers rushed to pick, pack, and truck fruit out before the rain started.
But he said once that fruit sold, it would be difficult to restock supermarket shelves, especially while the Bruce Highway was closed.
“Definitely supply will go down, there’s no doubt about it,” he said.
Mr Collins said it was too early to say how much was lost, or what it would mean for prices.
“It’s going to be an ongoing juggling act just to keep things going,” he said.
He said losses from this event could exceed those from Tropical Cyclone Jasper, which wiped out as much as 35 per cent of the supply from some farms in 2023.
“We’ve lost all that infrastructure again, all our roads are a mess,” Mr Collins said.
“If a banana plant goes underwater … the plant can’t breathe, can’t respire, and it will actually start shutting down and dying.”
Crocs in the clean-up
Unlike Mr Collins, water has receded enough for Tully sugar cane farmer Chris Condon to check some of his property.
Chris Condon’s wife was confronted by a crocodile on a causeway at their cane farm in Tully. (Supplied: Chris Condon)
“The water damage will be fairly significant again, unfortunately,” he said.
His family has been cut off by floodwater since Friday, but it was another hazard in the water that nearly prevented them from getting home.
“There’s a bunch of crocodiles everywhere around here,” he said.
“My wife was coming home with the kids the other night and there was one that was having a little camp on the causeway.
“She had to chase him off the road so they could drive through.”
The Department of Environment, Science and Innovation warned people to be on the watch for crocs in floodwaters.
“Expect crocodiles in all north and far north Queensland waterways even if there is no warning sign,” a spokesperson said.
Crocodile sightings can be reported using the QWildlife app, by calling 1300 130 372, or by submitting a sighting report on the department website.
Looking for a silver lining
North-western grazier Lloyd Hick, who is the president of rural lobby group AgForce’s cattle board, said there had been no reports of significant livestock losses.
“People will be struggling to get out and have a look,” he said.
Cattle moving to higher ground through floodwaters in north Queensland. (Supplied)
“So far we haven’t heard anything negative … keeping in mind that we’re still in the middle of it.
“Things can change within hours with this weather event.”
The Bureau of Meteorology said the system was largely stationary but was expected to slowly move inland toward the end of the week.
“Certainly from the middle to latter part of the week you couldn’t rule out falls of 50 to 100mm over multiple days through parts of the northern interior and gulf,” meteorologist Felim Hannify said.
“Further west over the gulf, the catchments have been quite dry over the past number of months.
“They are likely to moisten up significantly as well.”
Sugar cane crops have been inundated at Ingham and Tully in north Queensland. (Supplied: Hayden Di Bella)
Mr Hick said that would be welcomed by many graziers who had not had the wet season rain they needed.
“There will be a lot of people pinning their hopes on a very positive outcome for western Queensland out of this week,” he said.
He said the Bruce Highway closures would make it hard for producers to send their cattle to saleyards, especially those in the Northern Territory and western Queensland who were looking to reduce their stock numbers due to a poor season.
