Cyclone Debbie: Rockhampton residents prepare for record-breaking flood
Updated
Authorities are doorknocking residents in Rockhampton in central Queensland, warning them to leave low-lying areas ahead of a potentially record-breaking flood this week.
While many regions are cleaning up, Rockhampton is looming as the latest city in the state to suffer the after-effects of ex-Tropical Cyclone Debbie, with major flooding expected in the Fitzroy River on Monday.
Rockhampton Regional Council said 5,400 properties, including 3,000 homes, would face inundation when the Fitzroy River reached major flood levels on Monday and then peaked as high as 9.4 metres on Wednesday — a level not seen since 1954.
Rockhampton resident and flood veteran Allan Stock said it was a good opportunity to spring clean.
Mr Stock said he would not leave anything to chance with his home set to go under in the Rockhampton suburb of Depot Hill.
He expects his highset home will be waist deep on the second floor.
"Whatever they advise, you always go a little bit more than that so you can give yourself a little bit of peace," he said.
"I'm preparing here for 9.5 metres — giving myself a little bit of space — there's nothing much you can do about it, just roll with it and enjoy the ride."
Police Superintendent Ron Van Saane said people should keep off the roads and leave their homes early as the floodwaters rise.
He said authorities were working to ensure properties were not looted.
"Got an extra 30 police coming up from various parts of the state — some water police and mounted officers arriving as well," he said.
An evacuation centre was set up at the Rockhampton showgrounds.
Superintendent Van Saane said people should move to friends and family and only use the evacuation centre as a last resort.
Premier Annastacia Palaszczuk said Rockhampton residents had been through floods before and knew what to do to prepare.
"But this one, as I said yesterday, this one is going to be a big one," she said.
Rockhampton Airport is expected to close on Monday, with some airlines already suspending services.
A temporary levee was erected around the airport and the suburb of Berserker.
Swift water rescue teams from Cairns, Townsville and Brisbane have been sent in preparation for possible rescues.
A Queensland Fire and Emergency Service (QFES) spokesman said there were no rescues overnight.
Rockhampton councillor Tony Williams said residents are being told to turn off their household water and gas connections and tie up wheelie bins as the floodwaters start to rise.
He said Energex crews were also door-knocking homes in areas of Rockhampton that will be flooded.
"They have a workplace health and safety regulation that they cannot turn power off to properties once water has inundated that property, so they'll need to turn that power off prior to the water inundation," he said.
Cyclone clean-up continues in north Queensland
Meanwhile, in parts of north Queensland hardest hit by Cyclone Debbie, councils are increasing efforts to support residents.
The cyclone tore through the north Queensland coast on Tuesday.
Ms Palaszczuk called for people to offer their help.
"I am sure you will see Queenslanders out in force — it will be the Queensland mud army this time because we have seen — and we are going to see even more impacts across our state," she said.
"Men and women of Queensland, get ready to come and give a hand because I will be calling on you to help out."
She said it was not known how much the disasters across Queensland would cost.
"We simply do not know at this stage, but the devastation across our state its huge — it is going to take months to repair," she said.
"We want people to be treated as human beings.
"I want the insurance companies to understand that people are going through extremely tough times and to treat people with the sensitivity they deserve."
The Whitsundays Regional Council said the region was still in disaster management mode.
The Whitsundays council said it would suspended direct debit rate payments for a month to help ease the financial burden on residents.
The council was also providing additional kerbside waste collection on Sunday for Airlie Beach and Cannonvale, with normal services resuming next week.
Whitsundays Mayor Andrew Wilcox said he would travel to Collinsville and Dingo Beach on Sunday to assess the damage.
Councillor Wilcox said he went to Hydeaway Bay, Conway's Beach and Wilson Beach on Saturday.
He said Wilson Beach was the worst he had seen.
"There's people out there who've lost their roofs," he said.
"Everyone's had storm tide inundation and most people have had between half-a-metre and a metre-and-a-half of saltwater obviously through their place, awnings ripped off, windows smashed out — one house was actually totally demolished."
Meanwhile, a petrol station north of Mackay is writing IOUs to customers desperate to get fuel as there is no power for EFTPOS machines.
Dr Bill Boyd said generators were being used to power the pumps at the Coningsby service station on the Bruce Highway, but there was no electricity to work the credit card machine.
"People are arriving with plastic and no cash and they're desperate for fuel," he said.
"So what they're doing in good faith is — people are not going to cheat them — and they're taking written notes; 'I will pay you for the fuel later'."
900 energy workers trying to restore power in Bowen, Mackay
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Fallen trees have made a mess at the Proserpine High School. (ABC News: Allyson Horn)
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An extensively damaged property in Proserpine, a town directly in TC Debbie's path. (ABC News: Allyson Horn)
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Kerry Campbell's motel in Proserpine will be closed for some time. (ABC News: Allyson Horn)
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Mackay sugarcane has been flattened by cyclonic winds and rain. (ABC News: Dom Schwartz)
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Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull touring cyclone-devastated areas. (AAP: Gary Ramage)
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A car stranded in floodwaters on the Bruce Highway south of Proserpine. (ABC News: Dominique Schwartz)
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Floodwaters cut the Bruce Highway south of Proserpine. (ABC News: Dominique Schwartz)
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Low-lying areas of Mackay have been impacted by flooding from the Pioneer River. (ABC News: Dominique Schwartz)
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A flooded property at Flametree, Airlie Beach. (Facebook: Jess Laurent-Meale)
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Nathan Sainsbury's home in Proserpine a day after Cyclone Debbie. (ABC News: Allyson Horn)
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The Queensland Transport office in Proserpine was extensively damaged. (Twitter: Ian Stewart)
The Mackay Regional Council is also doing extra kerbside green waste collections on Monday.
Both councils are encouraging residents to attend recovery centres to access information about financial assistance, asbestos, insurance and personal support.
Ergon Energy said it planned to restore power to 80 per cent of customers by Friday, with 900 employees working between Bowen and Mackay.
Police ramped up their presence in the Whitsundays to crack down on looting.
Officers said they had received some reports of property crime in Airlie Beach and Proserpine.
Mackay Superintendent Bruce McNab said Bowen and Proserpine have 24-hour policing, with extra officers coming to the region to help.
"To make sure that premises that are insecure, that we can keep an eye on them and also give a general sense of comfort to the community," he said.
"Part of that response means extra police on the ground than we would normally have, making sure that property crime is kept under control is certainly a priority for us."
Topics: disasters-and-accidents, floods, weather, storm-event, storm-disaster, emergency-planning, emergency-incidents, rockhampton-4700, airlie-beach-4802, bowen-4805, whitsundays-4802, australia, qld
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