Australian PM calls in defence force to assist in emergency response and urges residents to follow advice from authorities

This article is more than 3 years old

This article is more than 3 years old





About 25,000 people living in north Queensland have been told to evacuate, with fears Cyclone Debbie will bring a devastating tidal surge to the region.

The worst storm to hit the Queensland coast in years is expected make landfall as a Category 4 topical cyclone just south of Bowen at 9am on Tuesday, ahead of high tide at 9.44am.

Cyclone Debbie: category four storm due to hit Queensland coast – live updates Read more

Police Commissioner Ian Stewart told a briefing on Monday afternoon forecasters were predicting a storm surge inundation ranging between 0.8 and 2.5 metres for the Mackay area.

“We are asking people that can move out of those low-lying areas that are depicted on the local maps on the council website to move now,” he said. “Don’t wait until tomorrow because you will not be able to move probably past midnight tonight.”

He said there were about 25,000 residents in the affected zones and it was possible many had already left.

Those able to get on the road should do so “as soon as humanly possible” and get at least as far south as Rockhampton, Stewart said.



Emergency services would do everything they could to assist locals but he urged people to take care of their neighbours and help each other out.



“That’s the Queensland (and) Australian way,” Mr Stewart said.

ABC Emergency (@ABCemergency) #Mackay inundation forecast to be 0.8m to 2.5m above highest tide. Maps on @mackaycouncil website https://t.co/ZFd3MvQAXZ #CycloneDebbie pic.twitter.com/mWQspHjEDO





Cyclone Debbie will be the worst in the region since Yasi in 2011.

The Queensland premier, Annastacia Palaszczuk, said on Monday morning 2,000 residents would be evacuated from the Bowen area, joining 3,500 who had already left the area between Home Hill and Proserpine. The cyclone was tracking further south than previously expected and could affect as much as 100km of coastline.

Shelters for up to 700 people were open in Bowen and Proserpine and buses were transporting people from towns further north to Cairns, she said. Palaszczuk warned residents not to wait until it was too late to leave as the window was “drastically closing”.

Melissa Maddison (@meljmaddison) It's absolutely bucketing down In #mackay as #cyclonedebbie moves closer @ABCemergency @ABCNewsBrisbane pic.twitter.com/2hWBtVHv8u

Defence, emergency service volunteers, police and power employees were already in the region in readiness and more than 100 schools from north of Townsville to south of Proserpine had been closed.

The Queensland government advised that 75 state schools and 27 Catholic and independent schools, as well as 107 early childhood centres, had been closed.



Farmers in the Bowen and Burdekin regions – the site of major sugar, capsicum, tomato and rice production – were concerned about the storm’s impact on their industries.

Bowen’s agricultural industry is worth about $450m a year, with the region accounting for more than 90% of Australian tomatoes and more than 95% of capsicum for consumption in September and October.



Emma Reynolds (@emmareyn) Last minute preparation at Airlie Beach #CycloneDebbie #TCDebbie #TropicalCycloneDebbie #WhitsundayIslands pic.twitter.com/JhqkCwG0xw

Cherry Emerick from the Bowen Gumlu Growers Association said some residents had already begun evacuating in preparation for the cyclone to cross the coast.

“It’s quite difficult to know how bad it’s going to be,” she said. “It’s dead quiet at the moment and blue skies.”

In Bowen a fence had been defiantly spray-painted, telling Debbie to “bring it on”.



As of Monday morning, Cyclone Debbie remained a slow-moving, category-two storm nearly 400km east of Townsville, with sustained winds of 100km/h.

The Bureau of Meteorology warned that it was expected to build in strength as it headed towards the north Queensland coast.

Wind gusts at the eye of the storm could be as damaging as 230km/h by the time it makes landfall.

Destructive winds with gusts over 125km/h were forecast to develop about the coastline between Ayr and Mackay later on Monday. There was also the potential of severe flash flooding in parts of the northern and central Queensland coast.

Palaszczuk said there was “no room for complacency”, with the storm potentially affecting an area from Townsville “all the way to Mackay”.

The state police commissioner, Ian Stewart, said the message to residents was “very, very clear”.

Cyclone Debbie: Queensland braces for large scale disaster Read more

“It is time to think very logically about your safety and the safety of your family.”

A 31-year-old woman died in a two-car crash near Proserpine on Monday, which Stewart said appeared to be related to weather conditions caused by the cyclone.

Stewart confirmed the woman was a tourist, and warned drivers in the region to be careful.

“People need to drive to the conditions and really think about whether they need to go outside at this point,” he said.

The federal Nationals MP Keith Pitt had already urged people not to put themselves at risk by second-guessing advice from emergency authorities.

“This is not the time ... to think you’re tougher than anyone else,” he told reporters on Monday. “It’s incredibly important you take the action necessary to preserve your life and property.”

Pitt said he hoped that “Cyclone Debbie does a Pistol and Boo and buggers off in a different direction”, inexplicably referring to Johnny Depp’s two Yorkshire terriers, which were booted out of Australia in May 2015.

“However, we need to treat this in a very serious manner and certainly try and ensure we minimise damage and of course risk to life.”

Josh Bavas (@JoshBavas) Message from one Bowen resident. 🤔 #CycloneDebbie pic.twitter.com/YVKzK73wRQ

The storm has kept the veteran Liberal Ian Macdonald from the Senate, with Debbie bound for his hometown of Ayr, south of Townsville.

“Thought we’d better get home and shut the windows! Senate will have to do without me!” he tweeted.

The prime minister, Malcolm Turnbull, said at a press conference that the federal government was working closely with the Queensland government and the Australian defence force to assist in the response.

He said to follow authorities’ advice and look out for their neighbours and vulnerable friends.