Hundreds of emergency workers and volunteers have put their Christmas plans on hold as Queensland braces for a possible cyclone and major flooding across the state.
A severe weather warning has been issued for much of Queensland, with the heaviest rain expected between Mackay and Cooktown.
The weather bureau says a monsoonal low in the Gulf of Carpentaria may develop into a low-grade cyclone over the weekend.
“The main concern will still be the rainfall, winds won’t be all that much of an issue,” senior bureau forecaster Michael Knepp said.
“These systems do produce very heavy rainfall and that’s what we’re concerned with at the moment.”
Premier Anna Bligh was briefed by emergency services on Friday morning and says she is confident the state is ready for whatever the weather brings.
“We have extra police resources all on standby and ready to be deployed,” she said.
“Similarly our emergency and SES crews are activated and ready for deployment.”
Ms Bligh also thanked emergency service crews for interrupting their holiday plans.
“Many people have had to make different holiday arrangements to make sure they could meet those responsibilities as volunteers in these groups,” she said.
“They may not be called upon, but they’ve already changed their plans so they could be ready for deployment and I thank them for doing that on behalf of our communities.”
Bruce Grady from Emergency Management Queensland says authorities have been working closely with local disaster management groups in affected areas and are prepared for the worst.
“We’ve been having daily hook-ups providing information on the weather system, how it’s unfolding and developing and we’re very confident those local groups are very well-prepared,” he said.
Flooding is already causing major problems in many parts of the state, stranding many Christmas travellers.
Major roads are cut, including the Bruce Highway between Cairns and Townsville.
In the central-west, the Capricorn Highway is closed between Barcaldine and Jericho and between Alpha and Jericho.
Many rural families across western Queensland will be isolated over Christmas, with floodwaters or boggy roads preventing people from leaving their stations.
Longreach grazier Duncan Emmott says 200 millimetres of rain fell yesterday on his property, the bulk of that in the first five to six hours.
“That’s the heaviest rain I’ve seen,” he said.
“I was torn between enjoying the rain and thinking when the hell is it going to stop.”
Torrential rain is forecast in the state’s far north from Christmas morning, with heavy rains expected to reach the south-east of the state by New Year’s Day.
Meanwhile, the southern inland town of Chinchilla has been spared major flooding.
The local council says Charley’s Creek is dropping from its peak of 5.3 metres.
Authorities will continue to monitor the situation over the weekend, but say the main danger period is over for now.
Disaster Management coordinator Ian Stewart urged people to be careful.
“We can replace property, we can’t replace individuals and I would ask everyone to consider personal safety above everything else,” he said.
Source: www.abc.net.au
