Hundreds of residents in Townsville have been evacuated and two men are missing as the area is hit with a year’s worth of rainfall in nine days
• Townsville flooding: two missing as questions mount over dam release
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Australian authorities deliberately flood 2,000 Queensland homes after record downpours
State government warns residents to beware of crocodiles and snakes, which were reportedly heading into suburban areas
After eight days of heavy monsoonal rain, authorities in the north Queensland city of Townsville had no choice but to open the floodgates of the Ross River Dam, deliberately flooding about 2,000 homes.
The decision was made as the Queensland government also published a warning to people to beware of crocodiles, snakes and other wildlife, which were reported to have left the swollen river and headed into some suburban areas.
Continue reading...Queensland flooding: thousands of homes in Townsville under threat as waters rise – live
Torrential rain forces authorities to open Ross River dam floodgates, releasing 1,900 litres a second in ‘once-in-a-century flood’. Follow all the developments • Townsville floods: Queensland premier warns ‘we haven’t got to the peak’
At this stage, authorities expect the Ross River to peak about 11am, and for the peak to last most of today.
That’s potentially good news for Townsville residents, especially those under threat but not yet underwater. It’s also a sign that the flood emergency is unlikely to end any time soon.
Overnight, Townsville residents were warned to stay out of the water – and for good reason. A number of crocodiles sightings have been reported, while the authorities also warned of snakes in the water.
Continue reading...Townsville dam floodgates fully opened, putting more homes at risk
Residents urged to seek higher ground as water surges at 2,000 cubic metres a minute from Ross river dam
Residents in the Queensland city of Townsville – where up to 500 homes are already under water – were urged to seek higher ground on Sunday as heavy downpours forced the floodgates to the city’s swollen Ross river dam to be completely opened.
A heavy deluge of rain on Sunday pushed dam levels to almost 250% capacity with authorities having to open the floodgates, almost doubling the amount of water flowing out of the catchment.
Continue reading...Queensland floods: Townsville reels under record water levels as more rain arrives
There are several more days to go in this flood event, Bureau of Meteorology warns
Queensland authorities have said the state’s north was entering “unprecedented territory” as monsoon rains battered the city of Townsville, setting record flood levels and destroying homes.
As the natural disaster entered its four day, the state emergency service confirmed on Saturday that 80 people had been rescued. It was too early to quantify the damage to homes, although some media reports said at least 50 homes had been affected so far.
Continue reading...Queensland warned to prepare for ‘dangerous’ flooding as premier declares disaster
Bureau of Meteorology expecting rainfall totals of up to 400mm per day for multiple days
Residents in northern Queensland have been warned to prepare for more downpours and flooding over the weekend and into next week amid a monsoon that has dumped more than 1.2 metres of rain in some places.
A huge swath of the state stretching 850km from Daintree in far north Queensland to Mackay in the southern end of the tropical belt has been designated as a flood watch zone. The area includes the Great Barrier Reef tourist centre of Cairns as well as parts of Cape York peninsula in the far north.
Continue reading...Queensland floods: emergency dam release as Townsville hit by 1.1 metre of rain
Up to 100 more homes face flooding after mayor orders high-risk plan to open floodgates on the Ross River dam
One hundred homes could be flooded in Townsville after the city’s mayor sanctioned the high-risk release of dam water to save the area from more widespread inundation following more than 1.1 metres of rain.
Announcing the emergency measure for the Ross River dam on Friday, the mayor Jenny Hill said there were no guarantees the plan would work. Between 90 and 100 homes downstream from the dam were being evacuated, she added.
Continue reading...Daintree River flooding: hundreds cut off after deluge breaks peak record
Ferry crossing in far-north Queensland closed after 500mm of rain in 24 hours pushed river to highest level in 118 years
Hundreds of people remain cut off after a deluge pushed far-north Queensland’s Daintree River to a record level.
The river peaked at close to 12.6 metres on Saturday night, breaking a record that stood for 118 years.
Continue reading...Man arrested over Gold Coast balcony death of Breeana Robinson in 2013
Cheerleader was allegedly thrown off 11th-floor balcony of luxury Southport apartment
A man is expected to face court accused of throwing a Gold Coast cheerleader off an 11th-floor balcony six years ago.
Breeana Robinson, 21, died when she plunged from the balcony of a luxury Southport apartment in January 2013.
Continue reading...Temperatures to soar as heatwave hits every state and territory
Much of Australia will bake this week with meteorologists forecasting the hot conditions will last for days in some parts
Every state and territory will bake through a heatwave on Monday with meteorologists saying soaring temperatures will last for days in some parts.
The Bureau of Meteorology said hot days were expected in January but multiple days in a row of temperatures above 40C were unusual.
Continue reading...Whitsundays shark attack: woman and child bitten in shallow waters
Girl to be transferred from Hamilton Island to have bite on foot treated, while woman was bitten on leg
A child and a woman have been bitten by a shark in the Whitsundays.
Related: Shark attack: five survivors on what it's like when a great white tries to eat you
Continue reading...Jellyfish sting more than 5,000 holidaymakers on Queensland’s coast
An invasion of bluebottles on Queensland’s Gold and Sunshine coasts led to thousands being treated
More than 5,000 people were stung by bluebottles on Queensland’s Gold and Sunshine coasts over the weekend as weather drove a wall of jellyfish onto the shore.
Conditions eased on Monday but remnants of the bluebottle armada (the correct term for a bunch of bluebottles) still dot the beaches and more than 200 people were treated for stings, mostly at the Sunshine Coast.
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