North Queensland’s one-in-100-year monsoonal deluge is far from over, with more heavy rain forecast, as hundreds of people remain holed up in evacuation centres.

February 6, 2019

Hundreds of people remain holed up in evacuation centres across Townsville waiting for floodwaters to recede as North Queensland’s big wet rolls into its 12th day.

The one-in-100-year monsoonal deluge is far from over with the Bureau of Meteorology warning more heavy rain is likely from Palm Island, north of Townsville, south to Mackay on Wednesday.

The ongoing severe weather warning follows the discovery of two men’s bodies in a Townsville drain after the floodwater receded.

A local resident said the men may have been sucked into man-sized pipes that lead to the drain from a liquor store where a looting incident had been reported.

The tragic news came as residents cautiously contemplated their losses and the massive mop-up operation ahead.

Queensland Fire and Emergency Services Commissioner Katarina Carroll says it is impossible to know how many homes have gone under across north Queensland.

“It’s easily hundreds, it could be thousands,” she said on Tuesday, but added audit teams were being hampered by the enduring risk of flash floods with each new deluge.

The 12-day-old weather event has exhausted emergency service workers, who have carried out thousands of rescues since the flood crisis began.

More than 100 fresh police officers and nurses will begin flying into Townsville to relieve their local colleagues on Wednesday.

Their arrival comes as schools in the region begin reopening as the monsoon trough slowly pushes south.

The vigorous weather system has delivered disaster to Townsville and generated floods out west, with farmers around Cloncurry, McKinlay and Flinders shire reporting livestock losses.

The rain isn’t over yet, however, with the bureau saying six-hourly totals up to 200mm are likely into Wednesday in the warning area.

A severe weather warning has also been issued for the west coast of Cape York Peninsula where damaging winds and abnormally high tides are possible.

Major flood warnings also remain in place for the Ross, Haughton, Upper Burdekin, Flinders, Cloncurry and Leichhardt rivers.

An emergency alert was issued for Hughenden with the Flinders River expected to cause flooding on the north side.