Monsoonal rainfall persisted over the weekend and into Monday over the central coast of Queensland. Some stations in the Townsville region have reported over two meters of rainfall in the past 10 days. This prodigious rainfall has put local rivers in major and even record flooding stages. Urgently required water releases from upstream dams have sent floodwaters rolling into Townsville, inundating much of the city!
“That’s unreal!”
A crocodile is seen climbing a tree in Townsville, Queensland to escape raging floodwaters. Crocodile warnings have been issued in the Australian city amid “unprecedented” levels of flooding. https://t.co/5Jf0tep9uH pic.twitter.com/xu7c4K641P
— ABC News (@ABC) February 5, 2019
Drone vision of the Burdekin River in flood over Macrossan Bridge, west of #Townsville—taken by Charters Towers Regional Council. There are numerous warnings in effect around the region: Stay up to date https://t.co/CQJkcaE1rm. @QldFES #TownsvilleFloods #BigWet #QldFloods pic.twitter.com/O8SCmOuTcr
— Bureau of Meteorology, Queensland (@BOM_Qld) February 4, 2019
Rainfall amounts have exceeded 2,000 mm for some stations near Townsville in the past 7-10 days. The station at the head of the Bluewater River is the leader so far at 2,338 mm since 27-Jan. Many highways into and out of Townsville are underwater with local grocery stores empty of food. Fortunately, the Bruce Highway reopened Tuesday morning, allowing fresh supplies to be transported in. Thousands of residents have been forced out of their homes and into emergency shelters. Officials have even warned residents to watch for wildlife like snakes and crocodiles displaced by the floodwaters (see the video above). Sadly, the bodies of two men who were missing for days were found in a flooded storm drain.
There is good news on the horizon if you squint hard enough. The stationary monsoon low responsible for the rain has finally started to move slowly northeast. Over the next few days it will shift across northern Queensland. The band of rain that has been pounding Townsville for more than a week is likewise on the move. Coastal areas to the south from Bowen to Mackay will be under the gun through the end of the week. Additional rains of 300-600 mm are generally expected in this area, but a few locations will see higher amounts up to 700-800 mm. By this weekend, the entire system will move off into the Coral Sea, gradually ending the flooding threat across the region. The process of recovery will take much longer, however. Lead photo courtesy flickr contributor Tatters.