
CLANCY OVERELL | Editor | Contact
North Queensland is expected to stay soaked today, as major rainfall continues to fill the already overflowing rivers and dams.
Schools and businesses across the region remain closed today, except for the one industry that always seems to do well during a major weather event.
As expected, North Queenslanders refuses to stay dry last night, and found peace during the eye of the storm by descending upon their closest watering holes.
Elsewhere, thousands of homes have been evacuated and emergencies services remain on stand-by with heavy rain predicted to continue until tomorrow.
As predicted by the Bureau of Meteorology, the rain has come thick and fast. With some communities measuring more than one metre of rainfall in a 48 hour period.
Residents of Townsville’s low lying suburbs and nearby towns, including Ingham and Cardwell, have been relocated to shelters as their homes begin to get inundated by rising floodwaters.
Locals remain vigilant about warnings that the near-record weather event could become more severe than “once in a lifetime” storms five years ago. Everyone except the publicans remained focused on the potential natural disaster that is unfolding before them.
However, with the slow-moving low-pressure system and a monsoonal trough, all flights out of the region have been grounded.
This has left hundreds if not thousands of FIFO workers stranded in North Queensland – unable to get home to their families after their latest swing in the mines and hydro projects.
With ‘nuthin to do’ the pubs are will remain full to the brim with a flash of high-vis until the rain clears up, and the hungover FIFO workers feel guilty enough to pick up a shovel and broom.
Emergency services say that they will be calling on the FIFOs to help with the disaster recovery when the storms stop, but for now the best thing for them to do is keep drinking piss and playing the pokies while texting their wives to say that the pubs have been closed as well.
MORE TO COME.