Heavy rains hamper Rockhampton recovery efforts

HEAVY rain over Rockhampton is stopping the recovery effort from the floods and increasing the possibility of more water leading to higher flood levels.

Flood waters at Rockhampton peaked yesterday, but it has been raining heavily in central Queensland's biggest town for several hours, with strong winds and lightning in the early morning.

The rain is putting at risk the recovery of the town of Theodore, which was evacuated last week as floodwaters rose, with plans to start moving people back into the town tomorrow being now reviewed.

A major problem is that the ground is already saturated or flooded, so rain falling now is adding directly to the floodwaters.

Rockhampton Mayor Brad Carter has warned the city could take a year to get back on its feet, adding that flood victims faced a long wait, possibly up to two weeks, before they could return home.

The BoM has warned water levels will remain above 8.5 metres until at least late next week.

"I think that this could drag on for 12 months,'' Mr Carter told the Nine Network, adding it would be three weeks before the airport could be re-opened.

However, the flood peak for the southern inland town has been revised downwards, with the Balonne River now not expected to rise beyond 14 metres.

"The information we had originally was 14 metres on Saturday, and possibly that could creep just above that on Monday or Tuesday,'' Balonne Shire Mayor Donna Stewart told the ABC.

But the latest advice was that the peak would be under 14 metres, she said. At 14 metres, only about 30 homes would be affected.

St George resident and Nationals senator Barnaby Joyce said more sandbags had been sent in to help residents prepare.

He spoke of the need for new dams to prevent future disasters, with St George facing its second major flood in less than a year.

"It's not good for our economy to be shut down and lose billions of dollars in production,'' Senator Joyce told Sky News.

"In the future I think we need to look at building dams to mitigate the effects of floods.''

The rain has led to several road closures in the Darling Downs area of southern Queensland, which was hit by the floods last week, but has started rebuilding efforts.

The main road up the range to the city of Toowoomba has been cut off because of a landslide caused by the rain, while to the west, waters have risen up and cut the Warrego Highway near Jondaryan.

More rain is expected over both central and southern Queensland this afternoon, with the possibility of heavy storms.

Meanwhile, daylight rail shuttle services have restarted in Queensland's north to help people resume their holidays or get home after flood-related delays.

The service will operate between Mackay and Cairns after floodwaters cut train services between Brisbane and Cairns, at Bundaberg and Rockhampton.

"The special services were a response to unique circumstances affecting customers in far North Queensland,'' Acting Transport Minister Paul Lucas said.

"Unfortunately, the flooding in Central Queensland has had a knock-on effect for many, including disrupted travel plans.''

The services will run until at least next Tuesday, but could be extended depending on the flooding situation further south.

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Queensland city Rockhampton hitting flood peak

Southern and western approaches to Rockhampton are more like huge lakes

Flood preparations in the inundated Australian city of Rockhampton are being put to the test as river levels hit their peak.

The River Fitzroy which flows through the Queensland city is at 9.2m (30ft) and expected to hit 9.4m, having already swamped hundreds of acres.

Officials say more than 400 homes will be flooded and another 4,000 will have water pouring through their gardens.

Many residents have already evacuated, some forced to do so by police.

More than 100 people spent the night in an emergency evacuation centre.

City Mayor Brad Carter said the waters were expected to remain at their peak level for about two days.



"We do not think they are a risk to public safety if people keep out of the waters, but if people do enter the waters their safety cannot be guaranteed," he told The Australian newspaper.

As the waters rose on Wednesday, Queensland's cabinet was meeting in emergency session to discuss its response to the crisis.

State Premier Anna Bligh said: "Given the scale and size of this disaster... we will continue to have major issues to deal with throughout January.

"There are literally thousands of Queenslanders who need our support."

More than a week of heavy rain has created a huge inland sea across Queensland which is now draining towards the ocean along the state's river systems, causing chaos in its wake.

Officials have said the flooded area is the size of France and Germany combined and 200,000 people have been affected. At least three deaths have been blamed on the floods so far.

South of Rockhampton, floodwaters are threatening St George where officials predict 80% of the town could be inundated next week.

To make matters worse, more rain is forecast for the state.



On Wednesday meteorologists issued a severe thunderstorm warning for southern areas, saying "very heavy rainfall, flash flooding" were likely, with St George among the locations that could be affected.

"Then as it starts to drop and flatten out, it is likely to be about 10 days or so that it could stay at about the 8.5m mark, which indicates that we will have significant water inundation for the best part of ... two weeks," he said.

Many of the city's historic buildings are being protected by piles of sandbags.

The city's main road to the north is still open but the airport is closed. Supplies are being flown by military cargo plane to a town north of Rockhampton and taken on by road or barge.

Mr Carter said residents had reported seeing snakes moving through the water looking for dry ground and some saltwater crocodiles had also been spotted in the Fitzroy River.

Queensland Emergency Services Minister Neil Roberts said the cost of the flood damage would run into "billions and billions of dollars".

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Australia flood death toll rises; rains cause more havoc

Police rescue German tourists near the northern town of Jabiru after their car became stuck going through crocodile-infested waters. (Northern Territory police / January 3, 2011)

Floodwaters in Australia's Queensland state created havoc in at least 22 cities and towns throughout the region grappling with several weeks of devastating rains, officials said Monday.

At least three people have been killed in the flooding since Saturday, and Queensland officials said as many as 10 have died in weather-related incidents beginning in late November.

About 200,000 people have been affected by the flooding, with many leaving their homes and seeking rest and food at relief centers, officials said. Spillover from Fairbairn Dam, the second-largest catchment area in Australia, was causing evacuations and other problems in several towns.

In the city of Rockhampton, the Fitzroy River caused the closure of the Bruce and Capricorn highways to the south and east, along with the local airport.

"Rockhampton is now completely stranded — a town of 75,000 people, no airport, rail or road," Queensland Premier Anna Bligh told Australian Broadcasting Corp. radio.

Prime Minister Julia Gillard declared the scene from the air as "truly startling" after flying over the town of Emerald, where some residents were returning to clean up after being evacuated on New Year's Eve.

"You see how widespread the floodwaters are and how affected Emerald is, how many houses have been affected," she said. "The patches that are not covered by floodwaters are a lot less than the area that is covered by floodwaters, so it's a very tough time in Emerald."

Although waters have begun to recede in some areas, others are looking at a week in which the situation could get considerably worse. Forecasters warned of more rain.

The Australian Defense Force was flying supplies to Mackay in the north and planned to truck them down to Rockhampton while the road was still accessible. The Fitzroy River is expected to peak Thursday.

Emergency services personnel from other states are also likely to fly in to assist with the response to the flooding, which in many cases has affected areas that were already isolated. Many of Queensland's emergency workers have been on duty since before Christmas, and many have lost their own homes in the deluge.

Warren Bridson, acting assistant director-general of Emergency Management Queensland, said conditions called for a protracted response and recovery.

"While some towns' river systems are still rising, others are moving into recovery mode and looking to reestablish their homes and businesses," Bridson said.

The Australian Red Cross was anticipating that at least 2,000 people would be staying in its seven emergency shelters in central and southern Queensland by Monday evening, and was setting up more shelters for the towns of St. George and Surat, where officials say water levels have not yet peaked.

The town of Theodore, population 351, was evacuated during the weekend and two successive waves of water have submerged every building. Residents were staying in a mining camp in the town of Moura and will probably have to be moved to another location in the next few weeks.

St. George and Surat are expecting even worse.

Much of the water is spillover from Fairbairn Dam, with a maximum capacity that is five times that of Sydney Harbor. It is at 140% capacity, officials said.

"It's an enormous wall of water and it's slowly moving down the state and that's why some towns are being hit twice," Red Cross spokesman Michael Gillies Smith said. "Thousands of homes are going to be destroyed and some evacuation centers will be open for a number of weeks."

Greg Goebel, the Red Cross' executive director in Queensland, said his organization was rushing to get staff members to towns before the waters cut them off. Although people were returning home where they could, they were finding their residences inundated with mud and silt — and wildlife, he said.

"A lot of snakes have come out," Goebel said. "Residents have come home to find [highly venomous] red-bellied black snakes and brown snakes. And around Rockhampton there's certainly going to be an increase in crocodiles in creeks and streams."

"Country people are quite stoic in Australia, but it's wearing thin," he said. "It's a huge disaster. Some people won't get home to their homes for at least another week, 10 days."

Goebel said the Red Cross was also moving into its recovery stage, encouraging people to donate cash rather than goods, and would soon start sending outreach teams with trained counselors to help residents reestablish their lives.


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Race to get food into flooded Rockhampton

The Australian Defence Force is rushing to deliver food and medical supplies to beleaguered residents in Rockhampton today as floodwaters slowly take over the city.

Hundreds of homes have been inundated and shopping car parks are filling with water as floodwaters in the churning Fitzroy River edge closer to the city's two main bridges and just one street away from the CBD.

The Fitzroy passed the nine-metre mark today on its way to an expected peak of 9.4 metres on Wednesday.

The central Queensland city's airport is closed and road links to the south and west are cut, making normal deliveries of groceries and other household items impossible.

The Defence Force has stepped in to help deliver much-needed food to the city's 75,000 residents, many of whom are being forced to evacuate their homes as the waters rise.

An RAAF Hercules transport aircraft will leave the RAAF Amberley airbase west of Brisbane today and fly to Mackay, where local authorities will load the supplies into vehicles for the drive south to Rockhampton.

Prime Minister Julia Gillard says if the road from Mackay to Rockhampton is cut the supplies will be taken by barge, or flown into the city by chopper.

Aircraft have already been dropping supplies to isolated communities in the flooded area, which now stretches over an area bigger than France and Germany combined.

Premier Anna Bligh flew in to Rockhampton this morning for a briefing from disaster management officials and says the delivery of supplies is critical.

"The city of Rockhampton has 75,000 people. Supplying them with food, ensuring that we keep them safe during this flood is absolutely critical," she said.

Overnight, dozens more residents were forced from their homes - particularly in the low-lying suburb of Depot Hill.

Police have been forcing residents to leave, with Mayor Brad Carter saying authorities will do whatever it takes to protect lives.

Rockhampton SES controller Eddie Cowie says it is a major task moving people to safety.

"We have a lot of water which is currently flowing in through the city in different areas, particularly here where I am at Depot Hill," he said.

"We've got numerous houses that are currently inundated with water, we've got a lot of people that have been evacuated from their residences and today it will be a continuing of primarily evacuating people to a safe location."

Around 50 people spent the night at Rockhampton's evacuation centre, but it will be able to cater for more than 2,000 if necessary. Many more people are believed to be staying with friends and family.

While Rockhampton waits for the worst of the flooding to hit, the Federal Government has already predicted the clean-up effort will cost millions of dollars.

Clean-ups are underway in Emerald and Bundaberg after flooding last week and today the state and federal governments announced new assistance packages.

Farmers and small businesses hard-hit by the floods will be eligible for grants of up to $25,000 to assist with the clean-up and recovery.

Ms Gillard also says immediate relief payments to people in 41 local government areas will start from tomorrow.

"When the floodwaters recede, we are going to see a lot of damage but we will obviously be working with the State Government to rebuild that essential community infrastructure," she said.

"All in all, we know hundreds of millions of dollars are going to flow into Queensland."

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