Landslides close highway north of Cairns as more than 100 people call for help

This article is more than 2 years old

This article is more than 2 years old

Cairns and Port Douglas were mopping up on Monday after torrential rain from ex-cyclone Nora caused flash flooding in Queensland’s far north.



Low-lying parts of Cairns were inundated and, in the tourist town of Port Douglas, water crept up to the doors of some holiday apartments.

Landslides and debris also closed roads in the region, including the Captain Cook Highway north of Cairns.

Hundreds of kilometres to the west, remote communities on Cape York Peninsula’s western coast were also cleaning up after Nora made landfall as a category-three storm early on Sunday.

The storm has since weakened to a low pressure system and is not expected to re-form into a cyclone, even if it heads back out over the Gulf of Carpentaria.

Severe weather warnings remained in place for Cairns and surrounding communities, and for parts of the Gulf country – between Burketown and Pormpuraaw – with more heavy rain and damaging winds expected.

The Bureau of Meterorology said Cairns received more than 260mm in 24 hours, with some areas to the north of the city recording more than 500mm.

Jeff Higgins (@HigginsStormCh) Incredible video of severe flash flooding between Port Douglas and Cairns this afternoon. Watch as a landslide almost wipes the vehicle out in front of them! The Captain Cook HWY is closed at multiple locations. https://t.co/q9euAGuSdW

The State Emergency Service says it has dealt with more than 100 calls for help in the Cairns and Port Douglas areas.

In Cairns, a shopping centre car park flooded, leaving cars bobbing in the water. Low-lying parts of the city centre also went under.

In the Gulf community of Pormpuraaw, which was hit hard as Nora made landfall, Ergon Energy is working hard to restore power to 230 homes.

But the work could be slow, given that repair crews and equipment must be flown in to the remote community.

Seven Queensland schools have been closed, including Burketown, Daintree, Karumba, Kowanyama, Miallo, Pormpuraaw and Wonga Beach state schools.

On Monday morning the low pressure system was almost stationary, sitting over the land between the Gilbert river mouth and Karumba on the Gulf coast.