A group of school children cut off by flooding in Queensland could be trapped for days before it is safe for them to be rescued.
Police said it is too risky to move the group of 72 year six student and eight teachers from the Willows State School in Townsville ‘en masse’.
It comes as a crocodile was spotted in the rising flood waters just metres from the roads in Ingham as the state’s far north took a battering from the rain on Thursday.
Deputy Commissioner Bob Gee, the Queensland Police state emergency coordinator, said the school group could be there for ‘some time’ as medical and food supplies were flown in on Friday evening.
A crocodile was spotted in the rising flood waters just metres from the road in Ingham
Pictures posted by the school’s Facebook page on Thursday showed children involved in team building exercises at the camp
Parents of children stranded at the camp site were invited to an information session at the school on Friday, principal Helen McCullough said
As the bad weather continues, an entire town has been submerged by floods after days of torrential rainfall
He said he could not predict an exact day they could be rescued but said they were happy the group had enough supplies for 48 hours.
The group were staying on a school camp trip at the Echo Creek adventure park before the rains came on Thursday leaving them stranded when the road between Townsville and Cairns was closed.
Deputy Commissioner Gee said: ‘We’re waiting on a break in the weather. We have no doubt they have enough supplies.
‘It will be some time before we can get all those children out safely.
‘We need to make sure that if we attempt to move these children en masse that we can do that in a safe way to make them safer than they currently are.’
In a statement on Friday afternoon, school principal Helen McCullough said: ‘All students are being well entertained with lots of indoor activities and games.
‘Our eight teachers continue to do a wonderful job keeping a close watch over the students to ensure they are safe and dry.’
Parents attended a meeting organised by the school on Friday afternoon which was also attended by police.
Ms McCullough added later in the evening the helicopter had delivered ‘much-needed treats to help keep everybody in good spirits’.
The town of Ingham (pictured) is severely flooded with 175 homes affected in the town, the fire service said
Queensland Police deputy commissioner Bob Gee (pictured right) said it would be too risky to move the trapped Townsville students
‘Those children are in a very safe place. We’re comfortable they have enough supplies.
‘The teachers have been absolutely fantastic, as have the kids.’
Locals have been helping support the stranded students and the children were able to watch the Brisbane Broncos game against the St George Illawarra Dragons on Thursday night.
‘They watched the footie last night and had a good time. It’s a shame the Broncos lost but it’s bad weather as well,’ deputy commissioner Gee added.
The huge croc was seen on a bridge over Lottery Creek by Ingham resident Rhonda Brown.
She posted on Facebook to warn fellow residents about the animal on the roadside.
But it had disappeared on Friday morning when Ms Brown returned out to go to work.
She said she thought the croc had been injured after initially driving past it before realising what it was.
‘It looked like it had already been hit by something — it was still alive, I didn’t get too close.’ she told the Townsville Bulletin.
Earlier, a Queensland Police spokesman said the group of students was safe and in constant contact with authorities.
The spokesman said a father of one of the children had driven through floodwaters and attempted to paddle a canoe to the group on Thursday, but had later turned back.
With the bad weather continuing, an entire town has been submerged by floods after days of torrential rainfall as some Queensland regions experience the worst rainfall in a decade.
Forecasters said the chance of a cyclone lashing the northern region is now at 5-20 per cent for this weekend, but the possibility of one developing would increase next week, the Cairns Post reported.
‘The chance of a cyclone forming this weekend in the Gulf of Carpentaria has decreased from (Wednesday’s) outlook, as the focus now shifts to early next week,’ a BOM spokesman said.
If a tropical cyclone does form next week, it will be the first tropical cyclone in the northern region for the 2017/2018 season and will be named Linda.
Winton, located more than 850km west of Rockhampton in the state’s central west, is surrounded by floodwaters with all but one access road cut after days of heavy rain.
The council will fly in supplies if the waters don’t recede within a few days
The area is surrounded by rising floodwaters, as its highest 3.7m deep, after reviving more than 2.5-times the historical average of rainfall the town expects.
With a population of 1000, Winton has recorded its wettest day in 18 years with 101.8mm of rain falling in just 24 hours.
Locals however are forgiving the inconvenience the floodwaters have brought with many residents remaining in high spirits.
‘The people that are getting affected by the water might not be too impressed by it, but everyone else has loved the rain,’ he told 9 News.
The council will fly in supplies if the waters don’t recede within a few days.
Winton Hotel owner Kevin Fawcett says locals are okay with the temporary disruption.
‘We’ve been in drought out here for so long, so it’s a bit of a novelty everyone’s saying how great it is,’ he told the ABC.
With a population of 1000, Winton has recorded its wettest day in 18 years with 101.8mm of rain falling in just 24 hours
Lachlan Millar is the MP for Gregory which takes in flood-bound Winton and other parched towns that are celebrating more than 400mm of rain in recent days.
‘The Ilfracombe Dam had been bone dry since January. The town was staring down the barrel of having no water. A downpour over the weekend brought the first inflow into the dam since 2016,’ he told parliament.
He said drought-affected farmers in the interior would need support for some time and the drought was not over.
‘Four days of rain does not undo seven years of relentless drought conditions. Now more than ever we need to support our farmers, graziers and our rural communities,’ Mr Millar said.
‘The majority of graziers in Western Queensland are destocked. Many have not had an income for five-to-seven years and are struggling to put food on the table.
All but one access road has been cut after days of heavy rain
‘Those lucky enough to receive rainfall are too scared to restock without the promise of more rain to come … small businesses are struggling and families have left in droves chasing work and a reprieve from unrelenting drought conditions.’
Residents in Far North Queensland are looking at some of the heaviest rainfall and flooding seen in a decade.
At on Friday 5am, Cairns recorded 131.8mm of rainfall and intermittent flash flooding while Innisfail has seen 97mm.
The Bureau of Metorology has confirmed the tropical cyclone currently in the Coral Sea is not likely to have any effect on Queensland, and chances are low of a cyclone forming off of the low pressure system in the Gulf of Carpentaria.
‘(Tropical Cyclone Hola) is expected to take a more southerly track during the day and track back to the south-east at the moment and it’s not expected to have any impact on the Queensland coast,’ BoM forecaster Sam Campbell said.
Some locals are forgiving the inconvenience the floodwaters have brought with many residents remaining in high spirits