Cyclone aftermath: Queensland and NT braced for flooding amid heavy rain
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Version 0 of 1. Queensland and Northern Territory were braced on Saturday for heavy rains and floods after weather forecasters downgraded two cyclones that lashed the regions, damaging homes and snapping power links. Troops were on standby to help with clean-up efforts in Queensland after heavy rains and winds in excess of 200 kph (125 mph) brought by Cyclone Marcia on Friday. Weather authorities warned of destructive winds, heavy rains and abnormally high tides as rivers swelled, but officials said there had been no casualties and that the storm’s impact had been weaker than expected “At this stage, everyone is breathing a deep sigh of relief that there has been no loss of life,” Queensland premier Annastacia Palaszczuk told reporters in Brisbane. Seven hundred Australian defence force (ADF) soldiers are being sent to the worst hit areas to help locals in the aftermath of the destructive category five storm. Palaszczuk said the ADF was ready to send separate batches of soldiers from Townsville and Brisbane to Rockhampton and Yeppoon, which were hit by Marcia on Friday. “They have 350 soldiers available to travel from Brisbane and 350 soldiers available to travel from Townsville,” Palaszczuk said. “They also have helicopters on stand-by if needed.” Palaszczuk is also preparing to travel to Rockhampton and Yeppoon where more than 550 properties were destroyed in the cyclone and tens of thousands of homes left without power. The premier said 89% of properties in Rockhampton were without power and most of Yeppoon was in blackout. “Power now is the crucial issue and it is going to take some time to restore power,” Palaszczuk said. “Yeppoon has suffered the brunt of the cyclone and it’s going to take a lot longer for power to be restored.” She said Ergon had sent 800 staff to the area and Energex was waiting until roads were cleared to send in another 100 staff. Both Rockhampton and Yeppoon hospitals were up and running on their own standalone power sources. The government was installing generators to power traffic lights in the central business districts of both towns. The Bruce Highway has been cut south of Rockhampton. About 56 schools have been damaged and the government expects to provide a list of schools that will be open on Monday. Palaszczuk also said the governments of NSW and Victoria have offered Queensland any assistance they could provide. People living on the southeast Queensland coastline have been warned to keep watch for waterspouts as wild weather lashes the region. The Bureau of Meteorology and police have confirmed that a waterspout with winds of up to 100km/h formed off the coast of Mooloolaba on Saturday morning. The spout moved onshore before damaging a local school and knocking over some trees as it tracked west. No one was injured or hurt. Forecaster Michael Paech warned there was the potential for more waterspouts between Brisbane and the Gold Coast. “Conditions are favourable for the waterspout formation over the water and some of that could move onshore,” he said. “There’s a possibility that some narrow destructive winds may form.” Residents in northeastern New South Wales are also bracing for heavy rains and potential flooding in the cyclone’s wake. The SES on Friday night had 62 teams in the region handing out sandbags and assisting with storm preparations. Flood rescue specialists and incident management teams are also monitoring flood levels in Murwillumbah and Lismore. The bureau was predicting damaging winds with peak gusts of about 90km/h to develop along the northern rivers coast and northern parts of the mid north coast by Saturday. Heavy rain leading to flash flooding is also forecast to continue in the area as well as on the Northern Tablelands. A severe weather warning remains in place for parts of the Northern Territory as ex-tropical cyclone Lam continues to unleash heavy rainfall and abnormally high tides. The bureau warned that thunderstorms and heavy rain may lead to flash flooding on Saturday. Areas that may be impacted include Wurrumiyanga, Katherine, Katherine airport, Daguragu, Delamere, Timber Creek, Victoria River Downs, Kakadu national park, the Darwin area and Litchfield national park. The bureau said abnormally high tides may cause sea water flooding of low-lying areas in the eastern Arnhem and eastern Carpentaria forecast districts. Place that may be affected include Nhulunbuy, Angurugu, Gunyangara, Nhulunbuy airport, Numbulwar and Ramingining. The Northern Territory emergency service is advising people to secure loose outside items and seek shelter when conditions deteriorate and to avoid driving into water of unknown depth and current. Lam crossed the mainland coast between Milingimbi and Elcho Island as a category four system at around 2am (WST) on Friday. Survey and rescue teams were due to fly to Warruwi community on Goulburn Island and Galiwinku on Elcho Island first thing on Saturday morning to do more extensive post-storm assessments. There had so far been no fatalities or serious injuries reported in any community affected by Lam, police said. |