Students on school camp in the far north receive airdrop of supplies as they remain isolated

Parts of north Queensland still at risk of flooding, police warn

Residents of the rain-hit north Queensland town of Innisfail have been warned they may need to flee to higher ground.

The call comes after the river levels rose as locals welcomed the drought-breaking downfall.

Other parts of rain-soaked north Queensland remain on high alert.

Police have warned low-lying houses close to the North Johnstone river are particularly at risk, but the level of the South Johnstone river is also rising.

A disaster situation was declared on Friday across North Queensland as flooding cut off major roads, houses were flooded and schools closed.

The emergency services minister, Craig Crawford, said the declaration gave emergency services the powers they needed to respond effectively to the flood.

Jordan Bissell (@jordan_bissell9) The Johnstone River @ Innisfail has subsided, but is still lapping at the road #qldfloods pic.twitter.com/4z8MFlHLjh

Up to 600mm of rain fell across catchment areas over the past three days.

Water levels were peaking at 14.7 metres, similar to February 2009 flood levels.

“Flood levels are expected to slowly ease overnight Friday but remain above the major flood level, 12m, Saturday morning,” the Bureau of Meteorology said on Friday.

A flood warning was issued for the Herbert river, which runs through Ingham, north of Townsville, while water was up to the floorboards in 225 homes in and around the towns of Ingham, Innisfail and Halifax.

At Ingham, a creek had split the town in two, while the Bruce Highway was cut to the north and south.

Major flood warnings remained in place for the Herbert, Tully, Murray, North Johnstone, Mulgrave, Russell and Flinders rivers. Moderate and minor flood warnings were in place for many other rivers in the region.

Students on school camp in far north Queensland have received an airdrop of supplies as they remain isolated by floodwaters.



Eight teachers and 72 year 6 students from The Willows State School were trapped at the Echo Creek adventure park on Friday after roads between Cairns and Townsville were swamped by 200-250mm of rain in just 24 hours.

The Australian Defence Force took advantage of easing conditions late on Friday to airlift food, medical supplies and clothing to the students, who are safe and on high ground.

One student and a parent were evacuated for pre-existing medical conditions, but police said it was still too risky to remove the rest of the group from the camp site.



