Families have sought safety on rooftops after losing everything, while there are fears for freshwater supplies, as “absolutely devastating” floods hit parts of Far North Queensland.
The city of Cairns and a number of remote communities are among those worst hit by the record-breaking flooding, after a year’s worth of rain fell in less than a week.
Homes have gone under, roads have been wrecked and thousands of calls for help have been made, with the deluge coming on the back of Cyclone Jasper, which hit last week.
More than 300 rescues have been carried out in and around Cairns, with Navy ship HMAS Cairns drafted to help.
The weather, however, is too bad for airlift rescues.
Fresh warnings have been issued for ‘life-threatening flash flooding” in communities, including the holiday hotspot of Port Douglas.
Cairns Airport remains closed, with images emerging of small planes underwater.
Premier Steven Miles has activated emergency funding for those affected and authorities are urging people to stay at home if they can.
“This is an extraordinary amount of rain and while we were expecting very heavy rainfall in the wake of the cyclone, this is next level,” he told Today.
“I know our teams are doing absolutely what they can do to keep Queenslanders safe.
“We need people to get themselves to evacuation centres if they’re concerned. If they can’t do so safely, we need them to contact us.”
People rescued from roofs
Multiple people have been trapped on roofs in a remote Far North Queensland community, and the whole small town needs to get out, authorities say.
Among the thousands of residents impacted were nine people stranded on a hospital roof in the remote First Nations community of Wujal Wujal, about halfway between Cooktown and Port Douglas.
They took shelter there overnight to flee rising floodwaters and have now got to safety.
However, the whole small town needs to be evacuated, Queensland Premier Steven Miles said.
“We remain very concerned about the community of Wujal Wujal,” he said.
Deputy Commissioner Shane Chelepy confirmed seven people have also been stranded on five houses in nearby Degarra, and two people on a roof at Bloomfield.
“We are doing everything we can to get our emergency services in to support these people,” he said.
Far North Queensland floods: Pubgoers tie up tinnies for a midday drink
Fears for water as Cairns goes under
Cairns has been badly hit, with multiple reports of homes being lost to floods.
Multiple fundraisers are trying to gather money for people who have been hit just a week before Christmas.
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One page, set up by mother Leila Holden says her daughter’s family only had the clothes they got out with.
“New fridge they got yesterday, all the Christmas presents, they are all gone. Both their cars are now floating.” the page said.
Another page describes Joe and Ged Gundrum’s Cairns home as being “submerged with only a metre to spare before reaching the ceiling.”
There is concern about the water supply in the Cairns regions as flood debris blocks key infrastructure.
Cairns Regional Council warned residents its water supply has now reached a critical level.
“There is very limited supply which may run out this morning if water cannot be restored to the treatment plant,” it said.
Water should only be used for drinking and food preparation, personal hygiene and medical needs as authorities work to clear blockages to the supply.
There is a warning of further heavy rain, with floodwaters forecast to rise across the region.
Miles said it could break the 1977 flood record.
A town in Far North Queensland has smashed rainfall totals after it recorded more than what Cairns or Darwin receive in a year.
Myola was pelted with about 2,025mm of rain in the past five days to 9am this morning, according to Weatherzone.
The BoM forecasts heavy intense rainfall with dangerous and life-threatening flash flooding, with six-hourly rainfall totals of up to 300mm to hit the region.
The area between the Daintree and Cape Flattery, both north of Cairns could be hit.
However, Cairns shoudl be spared more rain for now.
Major flood warnings are in place for the Daintree, Mosman, Barron, Johnson, Tully and Herbert rivers.
Record flooding continues out of the Daintree River.
“The Daintree River at Daintree Village reached 14.85m earlier this morning and is currently sitting at 14.25m. This is well above the old record of 12.6m from 2019,” the BOM said.
Miles announced yesterday that the government had sent boats from the State Emergency Services, firefighters, and police, as well as Surf Lifesaving and small Navy vessels, to help.
After hitting the Queensland coast on Wednesday as a category 2 system, Jasper rapidly weakened into a tropical low as it made its way over the state.
Thunderstorms and heavy rains have continued to batter some areas.
