Flood warnings are in place in many areas of Queensland as a monsoonal moisture pattern continues to provide heavy rainfall in the north.
Causing the levels of the rivers to rise, while other areas are experiencing totals that would normally be expected in an entire Wet Season in a week.
The Bureau of Meteorology Queensland Warnings List on Friday included a major flood warning for the Flinders River, a flood warning for a number of Gulf and inland river basins.
This is due to the fact that the ground is already saturated, creating little room for further rainfall to fall on already swollen river basins.
In the northwest, the agency reported that the equivalent of the region annual rainfall had fallen in the region over the past few days since Christmas.
That towns and cattle stations were preparing for the run off as it makes its way through the flood plains.
The tropical North Coast towns of South Mission Beach and Cowley Beach had over a meter of rainfall in seven days as the situation deteriorates rapidly for the region.
Townsville also recorded a strong burst, 223mm of which fell at the Townsville Aero station based on the daily observations of the Bureau, further heightening concerns of flooding in the local area.
Matthew Clark, a senior forecaster at the Bureau of Meteorology, said in a report, “If that trough does make landfall, we could certainly see rainfall of more than 200mm in fairly short order, even after some places had seen the worst of it.”
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The effects are not confined to back roads, either. The train line between Hughenden and Cloncurry in the area of the Antonasca Creek has had to be temporarily shut down.
While many major roads in the region are frequently closed as the water levels fluctuate.
The state and federal governments declared the Disaster Recovery Funding Arrangements in the areas, in order to enable the cleaning up of areas as the damage becomes evident.
The emergency services also redirected their efforts to meet the unfolding incidents in the north.
Queensland State Disaster Coordinator, said that the state was working on assistance such as fodder deliveries for graziers who were still unable to enter their paddocks.
Along the north east coast, Stream reported Giru received 182mm of rain Thursday with 156mm received in Ayr, with reports of flood inundation of houses as they worked through the run of jobs they had including tarping.
Townsville Mayor said that with king tides over 3.9 meters currently inundating low lying areas, it only adds to the problems with drainage and potential further rain.
On his part, the media did not miss this opportunity to call for investment in flood warnings at the federal level after it was found that several flood water level sensors were turned off at the time of the flood event.
