Townsville is bracing for yet another monsoon surge with 125km/h winds on Monday as a once-in-a-century rainstorm which has turned the city into a ‘disaster zone’ shows no sign of letting up.
Forecasters have warned of a ‘risk to life and property’ due to ‘unprecedented’ flooding which could overwhelm up to 20,000 homes as 17,000 properties are left without power.
The rains will bring up to another 30cm of water to the city which was turned into a floodplain on Sunday night when the Ross River Dam spillway gates automatically opened to ease pressure.
This sent 2,000 cubic metres of water per second rocketing through already flooded suburbs as desperate residents scrambled in boats and kayaks to reach evacuation centres on higher ground.
Locals woke on Monday morning to scenes of total chaos, with thousands of homes, car parks and shopping centres almost totally submerged and huge crocodiles roaming city streets. And the worst is yet to come.
Threat to life: Townsville is bracing for yet another monsoon surge with 125km/h winds on Monday as a once-in-a-century rainstorm which has turned the city into a ‘disaster zone’ shows no sign of letting up. Pictured: An aerial view of the city
The underwater city: Forecasters have warned of a ‘risk to life and property’ due to ‘unprecedented’ flooding which could overwhelm up to 20,000 homes as 17,000 properties are left without power. Pictured: A man wades through flooded streets with a bike
The local wildlife: Townsville locals woke on Monday morning to scenes of total chaos, with thousands of homes, car parks and shopping centres almost totally submerged and huge crocodiles (pictured) roaming city streets
Help is at hand: Rescuers went door-to-door to warn locals of the risks of staying as the ‘unprecedented’ once-in-a-century storm devastated some suburbs of the north Queensland area
This BOM model shows how much rain battered Townsville on Sunday and Sunday night. More than 20cm hit the CBD
The rains are not expected to let up until Tuesday. A Bureau of Meteorology forecaster told Daily Mail Australia: ‘On Monday there is another monsoon surge heading towards northern Queensland and it may hit Townsville.’
Six hours of rainfall on Monday will likely bring more than 10cm of rain – and totals of up to 30cm are possible.
To make matters worse, coastal areas are bracing for ferocious winds of up to 125km/h.
‘We are still warning residents to be on high alert – although after Monday the worst should be over,’ the forecaster said.
Emergency crews have been stretched to the limit, with hundreds of people still waiting for help and evacuation centres filling up fast.
Townsville has never seen the likes of this
It’s unclear how many more homes may have been inundated overnight. On Sunday the figure was between 400 and 500 – but that was before dam releases.
Officials have warned between 10,000 and 20,000 homes could be at risk.
With days of more rain ahead, the crisis is far from over and Queensland premier Annastacia Palaszczuk says forecasters are closely watching the monsoon trough amid fears it could form into a cyclone if it moves off the coast.
‘This system, if it moves out to the sea, it could develop into a cyclone,’ she said on Monday.
‘These are early days and we won’t know for certain until the next few days.’
The rains are not expected to let up until Tuesday. A Bureau of Meteorology forecaster told Daily Mail Australia: ‘On Monday there is another monsoon surge heading towards northern Queensland and it may hit Townsville.’ Pictured: A man wades through flooded streets with a bike
On the way: Queensland Fire and Emergency Services shows rescue crews responding to flood conditions in Townsville
Here to help: Queensland Fire and Emergency Services crew members are seen in floodwaters in Hermit Park, Townsville on Sunday
Desperate locals are posting on social media pleading with strangers for help as water levels continue to rise
Six hours of rainfall on Monday will likely bring more than 10cm of rain – and totals of up to 30cm are possible. Pictured: A local tweeted for help
One crocodile was spotted in the residential neighbourhood of Mundingburra shortly before 10pm
The Bureau of Meteorology has also warned that tornadoes could form, with gale-force winds seen in Townsville overnight.
The premier said emergency crews responded to more than 200 calls for help overnight, with about the same number still waiting for help on Monday morning.
The weather was atrocious overnight, with two police engaged in evacuation work rescued themselves after fast rising flood waters trapped them and washed away their patrol car.
They were rescued after spending half an hour clinging to trees.
‘It was just bucketing down last night … and the wind gusts were huge. It was a tough night,’ the premier said.
Water releases from the dam sparked emergency flood alerts late on Sunday, with residents in 21 Townsville suburbs told to move to safety.
The premier said the dam had been been managed well and the council did what it had to do.
‘That water needs to go somewhere. From what I can tell, they’ve done everything from the book,’ she said, saying the peak was yet to come in the next day or two. Townsville has never seen the likes of this.’
About 1000 people were now in evacuation centres, with one of five centres now full. The council will decided of other centres need to open on Monday.
Schools in Townsville remain closed and a decision will be made early on Monday about whether to reopen the city’s airport after all flights were cancelled late on Sunday.
The monsoon trough that’s been dumping flooding rain on north Queensland’s east coast, and drought-hit parts of western Queensland, will drive the state’s emergency for days to come.
Intense rain with significant flash flooding is expected between Ingham and Bowen, and possibly as far south as Mackay, extending inland to Mt Isa near the Northern Territory border.
On Sunday night, desperate locals were posting on social media pleading with strangers for help as water levels continue to rise.
‘Please, we have been stuck at 9 Lakewood Drive waiting for SES for hours… we have a six-year-old and a large dog, neither can swim,’ one resident wrote online.
‘Does anyone have a boat they can get to us on?’
Australia’s biggest northern city remains under siege as once in a century monsoons continue to flood homes
Forecasters now fear the monsoonal weather conditions and strong winds will create a tornado in the region in the coming days
The town was forced to open the floodgates to the already overflowing Ross River Dam on Sunday
Tens of thousands of families are currently on their seventh day of battling the conditions, and have now been warned the flooding has displaced crocodiles.
Crocodiles were spotted in the residential neighbourhood of Mundingburra shortly before 10pm.
Residents were warned to keep their eyes peeled while wading through the waist-deep waters.
Forecasters now fear the monsoonal weather conditions and strong winds will create a tornado in the region in the coming days.
Early estimates suggest insurance costs will exceed $16million, but this could increase drastically should the tornado hit.
The town was forced to open the floodgates to the already overflowing Ross River Dam on Sunday, creating a wall of water that flowed out into the community at 2000 cubic metres per second as of 9pm on Sunday evening.
The alarming reports prompted a warning from the Bureau of Meteorology, who urged residents of low lying areas to seek alternative accommodation.
‘You can expect high velocity flows and unprecedented areas of flooding to occur in the Ross River Catchment,’ BoM spokesman Bruce Gunn said in a video statement.
More than 500 Townsville homes were evacuated overnight and have been inundated with water
Townsville is currently in its sixth day of intense rains and monsoon weather conditions
Striking images showed roads and houses totally submerged by heavy flooding while 100 soldiers were called in to help stricken residents prepare for the worst (Pictured: Rosslea residents take their boat around floodwaters)
Queensland Fire and Emergency Services crews responding to flood conditions in Townsville
‘It could change continuously and unpredictably over the course of this evening into (Monday) morning.’
The Ross River at Aplin Weir was at 3.11 metres and rising late on Sunday night, with authorities expecting it to reach four metres.
The extra water could flood more homes along the river.
Up to 20 suburbs were evacuated as of last night.
People in Rosslea, Hermit Park and Townsville City have been urged to move to higher ground immediately.
The monsoon trough that’s been dumping vast amounts of rain on the state’s north for a week has rewritten Townsville’s record books.
The Bureau of Meteorology has warned communities in North Queensland the heavy rainfall and flooding could last well into next week
Queensland residents have been urged to seek safety as authorities are forced to open dam doors (pictured) completely as the state battles a one-in-100 year monsoon
The town was forced to open the floodgates to the already overflowing Ross River Dam on Sunday, creating a wall of water that flowed out into the community at 2000 cubic metres per second
In just seven days, the city copped a staggering 1012mm, eclipsing the previous record of 886mm set on the city’s so-called Night of Noah when vast swathes of the city went under back in 1998.
Parts of north and central Queensland could get another half a metre to a metre of rain over the next few days.
Authorities have pleaded with Townsville residents who are still in their homes to get ready.
‘We don’t know when this event will end,’ Townsville Mayor Jenny Hill said.
‘We cannot give you any certainty about what we are going to need to do into the future.’
Townsville Local Disaster Management Group Chair Mayor Jenny Hill said the decision to open the spillway gates further was not taken lightly (Pictured: flooding in Townsville)
Dozens of homes have been swamped since the flooding began with schools and businesses shut, thousands displaced and evacuation centres opened (Pictured: army personnel assisting with flood evacuations)
With water levels at waist and chest height in some suburban streets, local police chief and District Disaster Coordinator Steve Munro said the crisis was only half over
Townsville Airport announced it had cancelled all flights in and out of the facility just after 6pm due to safety concerns.
With water levels at waist and chest height in some suburban streets, local police chief and District Disaster Coordinator Steve Munro said the crisis was only half over.
He warned: ‘[Damage] could move up to the 20,000 (mark). That’s the worst case scenario we’re looking at if things keep going pear-shaped. We don’t want to get to that stage.’
The monsoon trough has brought driving rain to other parts of the state too, including drought-hit communities out west.
At Hughenden, properties are facing inundation and the forecast is for more major falls out there, as far as Mount Isa near the Northern Territory border.
In Townsville, people are sharing dramatic stories of what they had to do to escape fast-rising flood waters
The flash flooding and land slips have been declared a disaster in an area that stretches 700km from Cairns to Mackay (Pictured: flooding in Rosslea, Townsville)
Back on the east coast, communities from Ingham to Mackay, 500km away, are at risk of flash flooding and damaging winds, including the possibility of tornadoes.
In Townsville, people are sharing dramatic stories of what they had to do to escape fast-rising flood waters.
Hermit Park resident Randall Parker used a blow-up air bed to float his family to safety after water rapidly swallowed his unit.
‘It is just unbelievable … It just keeps bucketing down,’ he told The Sunday Mail.
‘I just had to get the family out including a newborn baby as quick as possible.’
The monster monsoon has left police, rescue crews and soldiers scrambling to help locals, some of whom, like Mr Parker made makeshift rafts and desperately paddled their pets, children and belongings to higher ground.