The former tropical cyclone Jasper made landfall, and state premier Steven Miles issued a “serious weather emergency,” resulting in the closure of the Cairns airport in Queensland due to the possibility of catastrophic flooding in the Far North Queensland city.
Miles stated on Sunday afternoon that there were “serious concerns” for numerous towns in the far north and that flood levels in Cairns were predicted to surpass the previous record set in 1977.
“We’ve had nearly 600mm of rain in some places, and there’s still more coming,” he stated. “10,500 people don’t have power right now.”
After intense rain pounded communities, creating power outages and locking some people inside their homes, emergency services reacted to calls.
On Saturday, lightning struck a 10-year-old girl as she was playing near Beerwah on the Sunshine Coast in the midst of severe thunderstorms. The girl’s condition was critical on Sunday at Queensland Children’s Hospital in Brisbane.
During the course of Saturday night, Jasper—now known as a “tropical low”—made landfall in the Gulf of Carpentaria. On Sunday, though, there was still a lot of rain, so those in Cooktown, Mena Creek, and Mount Molloy had to wait for help.
Two men who had been stuck at Cooktown’s Melonsby station for more than sixteen hours were among them. The residence was reported to have people trapped inside, according to police, who chose to notify emergency services after arriving at the scene at 10.40 p.m. on Saturday.
A police spokeswoman stated on Sunday, just before 2:00 PM, “First reports indicate that both men are safe and well. An evacuation is planned for when the weather permits and it is safe to do so.”
Crews from the State Emergency Service responded to 532 requests for help in the twenty-four hours leading up to Sunday noon.
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Authorities in the far north issued a “life-threatening event” warning to locals on Sunday afternoon, telling them to expect severe rains for at least one more day.
Until they felt insecure and had to go to a neighboring evacuation center, they advised residents to remain in their houses.
“This is the most rain I have ever seen,” remarked Sara Mulcahy, a resident of Port Douglas. “We are cut off from Cairns, Mossman, and the interior; roads are flooded.” In the low-lying areas, people are being forced to leave their houses.
Following social media revelations that many people in far north Queensland had been spared despite purposefully driving into floodwaters, Queensland Fire and Emergency Services issued a warning.
According to the QFES, “We cannot emphasize enough how dangerous this is—not just for those who intentionally enter the water, but also for our emergency services personnel who put their lives in danger to save you.”
Authorities in Mossman issued an emergency alert on Sunday morning, instructing the locals to either evacuate to the adjacent high school or seek protection at home.
Deputy Premier Cameron Dick announced that more residents will be eligible to apply for emergency cash and that some municipalities will be able to apply for reconstruction subsidies as part of an expansion of the state and federal government’s disaster assistance program.
The Bureau of Meteorology issued severe flood warnings for the Barron, Daintree, Herbert, Mulgrave, Tully, and Murray rivers, as well as the Johnstone River basin, on Sunday afternoon. The Russell and Mossman rivers were under a flood alert.
Although it was unclear how dangerous it was, the weather office warned of a “moderate risk” of Jasper redeveloping starting on Saturday of next week.
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