Bureau of Meteorology expecting rainfall totals of up to 400mm per day for multiple days

This article is more than 1 year old

This article is more than 1 year old

North Queensland residents have woken to another day of torrential rain as a once in a 100-year big wet rolls on.

The massive monsoonal deluge has caused landslips and flash flooding across the region over the past seven days.

Homes and businesses have been destroyed as flash floods washed through streets sweeping away cars, equipment and livestock.

Landslips have destabilised an apartment complex, blocked roads and caused homes to be evacuated

In Townsville, a further 100 homes remain at risk from the bulging Ross River Dam, which was at 185% of capacity late on Friday.

Soldiers were mobilised to help sand-bag vulnerable properties as authorities went door to door telling people they should leave at-risk homes.

All three dam gates had been opened and a record amount of water was spilling into the sea.

More rain has been forecast across the weekend, with some areas likely to receive up to 400mm a day, as the overly active monsoon trough remains almost stationary.

Queensland floods: emergency dam release as Townsville hit by 1.1 metre of rain Read more

A severe weather warning was in place from Cairns to Bowen, but Townsville was expected be hit the hardest, the Bureau of Meteorology warned late on Friday.

A second severe weather warning has been issued for northwest Queensland, including Mt Isa, where heavy rainfall of up to 125mm, damaging wind gusts and flash flooding is possible.

Further north, coastal communities on the Gulf of Carpentaria had been told to prepare for the highest tides of year as the monsoon trough whipped up gale force winds.

Major flood warnings had been issued for the Flinders, Cloncurry, Haughton, Herbert, Murray, Ross, Bohle and Black rivers, along with the Bluewater Creek.

A huge swath of the state stretching 850km from Daintree in far north Queensland to Mackay in the southern end of the tropical belt has been designated as a flood watch zone. The area includes the Great Barrier Reef tourist centre of Cairns as well as parts of Cape York peninsula in the far north.

Bureau of Meteorology, Queensland (@BOM_Qld) ⚠️VERY HEAVY RAINFALL AND LIKELY FLASH FLOODING affecting the Mt Margaret area to the WSW of Townsville on the Bohle river. 165mm in 3hrs observed. Updates: https://t.co/wOVse8Y2hP pic.twitter.com/jXjZFEIz05

The city of Townsville has been the worst-affected area after receiving more than a year’s worth of rain in the past week.

At least 50 homes had been submerged in surging floodwaters, landslides destabilised an apartment complex, and floodwaters blocked roads and caused homes to be evacuated. About 30 people needed to be rescued after being caught in floodwaters and trapped on roofs.

The Bureau of Meteorology said on Friday that it was expecting high daily rainfall totals of up to 400mm per day in some places for a number of days.

BoM meteorologist Lauren Pattie said: “The fact that it is so enduring, the fact that it continues for a number of days and we expect it to go for a few more, that factor as well makes it particularly dangerous.”

The impact of the floods is already wide-reaching and the Bom warned the flooding could continue over the next few days or even the next week.

The highest rainfall recorded over the past seven days was 1268mm at Sandy Plateau near Mackay.

The Upper Bluewater area of Townsville had received 1.23m of rain in the seven days to 9am on Friday, while Paluma (1.18m), Upper Black River (1.04m) and Woolshed (1.01m) were all swamped with more than one metre.

Anna Hartley (@Anna_Hartley1) BEFORE-AFTER: @BOM_Qld warns high tides will impact the Torres Strait over coming days. The Torres Strait Regional Authority says it will be the first test for new geotech sandbags on the smaller island of Poruma. If they work they could be rolled out to other vulnerable islands. pic.twitter.com/izMhCsGOV7

As the downpour intensified on Friday, authorities decided to open the floodgates on the nearby Ross River in order to head off the prospect of more widespread flooding. Evacuation orders were issued as up to 100 homes faced being swallowed up by the emergency water release plan.

The Bruce Highway linking the city to the south was cut off and schools were closed. Police were given extra evacuation powers after the Queensland premier, Annastacia Palaszczuk, declared a disaster situation.

Elly Carpentier and her family were forced to take shelter along with dozens of other families at the Bluewater community centre and wait the storm out.

She said she left home on Friday morning to collect two of her three children from school and 45 minutes later her high-set home was underwater.

“There was no water on the ground around our house when I left,” she said. “The floodwater came up three metres in 30 minutes. My house was submerged under water, that’s how quick it was. It was incredible. I have never seen anything like it.”

Community centre co-ordinator Darla Astill said about 100 flood-affected families arrived on Friday. Some had lost most of their possessions.

“People have had to just sit and watch cars, tractors, containers, ride-ons and all sorts of stuff just floating in the creek,” she said. “There’s not much you can do, it’s still raining, we’ve got more rain predicted so we’re just sandbagging here at the moment if it does rain again.

“There’s been a couple of dogs floating by, people tried to rescue them, there was also a cow that got pulled out and survived but one the dogs they couldn’t get to.”

Queensland flood services manager Victoria Dodds said the monsoon system was expected to remain active across north Queensland into next week with the potential for further flash flooding.

“A number of roads are already impassable and swift-water rescue teams have been engaged where members of the community have either travelled through floodwaters or become trapped in rising waters,” she said.