Kirrily mop up begins but heavy rain risk remains

Thousands of Townsville residents remain without power as northern Queensland begins to clean up following Tropical Cyclone Kirrily.

Strong winds hit regions on Thursday evening along with rainfall totals between 100 and 150mm but minimal property damage was recorded.

About 66,000 customers experienced a power outage at the peak of the cyclone’s crossing and 42,000 households remained without power on Saturday afternoon.

Ergon Energy deployed 600 restoration crews and said the focus would be on Townsville which had the majority of outages.

Queensland Premier Steven Miles said power outages were also affecting phone networks and water supply for some 10,000 households.

He urged people affected to continue conserving water and know that crews were prioritising reconnection.

“Thankfully, we know of no loss of life and very minimal property damage at this stage,” he told reporters on Saturday.

Emergency Management Minister Murray Watt said residents within Townsville City Council and Burdekin Shire Council could apply for government hardship payments worth $180 per person up to $900 for a family of five or more to cover the costs of essentials as a result of loss of power requiring the disposal of spoilt food or medicines.

Other support measures were also available to eligible individuals in those areas to help make their homes safe and reconnect essential services such as electricity, water and sewerage.

People requiring immediate assistance can contact the recovery hotline on 1800 173 349.

The federal and state governments are also helping councils in Townsville, Burdekin, Hinchinbrook, Palm Island, McKinlay and Richmond with clean-up and repair costs.

The Bureau of Meteorology has warned remnants from the weather system would move slowly inland, bringing extreme moisture and heavy-to-intense rainfall.

Parts of northern Queensland could face up to 100mm of rain as the system lingers in the outback northwest of Longreach across the weekend, the bureau’s senior meteorologist Miriam Bradbury said.

“That’s quite a short period to see quite a lot of rain come through so it may very quickly lead to flash-flooding that could cut off roads and access routes, turning them muddy and impassible,” she said.

Parts of central and southern Queensland faced potential severe thunderstorms on Saturday with flood warnings for central west Queensland, parts of the Carpentaria and Cape York Peninsula.

Prisoners from Townsville jail are being supervised to help the SES with the clean-up. (HANDOUT/QUEENSLAND POLICE SERVICE)

Severe storms are likely to lash southeast Queensland, bringing heavy to locally intense rain on Sunday.

The system’s path becomes less clear from Monday and could potentially move west towards the Northern Territory, weaken and dissipate over inland Queensland or drift south into central Queensland.

People along the NSW mid-north coast, Northern Rivers, North West Slopes and Northern Tablelands are being warned of severe thunderstorms bringing heavy rainfall and damaging winds.

Parts of northeast NSW are also expecting heavy to intense rainfall with dangerous flash flooding possible across northern ranges, slopes, plains, and the far northeast coast.

Emergency crews were called to help a group of people trapped in rising flood waters near Charters Towers on Friday night.

Three off-road vehicles went recreational driving to view the effects of the storm but became stranded due to rising flood waters.

The cars held 14 people, including four children, and were stranded for a short time.

A local mustering helicopter airlifted the group to safety.

Townsville police district disaster co-ordinator Chris Lawson said it was disappointing people were actively trying to enter floodwaters for recreation.

Hundreds of State Emergency Service volunteers are supporting locals while low-security prisoners from the Townsville Correctional Complex have also joined clean-up efforts.