‘Like a ghost howling’: Tropical Cyclone Kirrily to bring heavy rain to Queensland as Townsville residents survey damage

Photograph: Bureau Of Meteorology Handout/EPA

Tropical Cyclone Kirrily has weakened to a tropical low after crossing the far north Queensland coast but damaging wind and intense rainfall is forecast for the coming days.

The Bureau of Meteorology (BoM) said the cyclone “decayed rapidly” on Friday night from a category three storm to a category two system.

The cyclone delivered wind gusts of up to 143 km/h offshore but slowed as it hit landfall, with gusts reaching 90km/h in Townsville on Friday night.

Kirrily has now been downgraded to a tropical low but heavy rainfall and strong winds are forecast across the northern interior and western Queensland as the storm moves inland.

The Queensland premier, Steven Miles, said on Friday there had been minimal property damage and no lives lost.

“Despite a tense night, no lives were lost. The threat is not over though,” he said. “We’re not out of the woods but we will continue to work to be prepared to support Queensland communities.”

The BoM said on Friday the system had “an extreme amount of moisture” which would produce heavy rainfall and could lead to life-threatening flash flooding and damaging winds.

Flood watch warnings remained in place for coastal and inland catchments between Tully and Airlie Beach, as well as parts of the central west and Gulf catchments.

The bureau advised minor to major riverine flooding was possible across those areas as the system moved west towards the border over the weekend and into next week.

A “continued monsoon” would remain in far north Queensland for the latter part of next week.

The state disaster coordinator, deputy commissioner Shane Chelepy, said 15 residents of Georgetown on the Etheridge River would be doorknocked and warned about the risks of the rising river.

“We have sufficient aviation fuel, food and water for those communities. And we also have some appropriate plans in place to continue that resupply over the next coming weeks,” he said.

On Friday morning, ex-Tropical Cyclone Kirrily was located to the west of Townsville.

Traffic lights were out in Townsville on Friday morning and around 64,000 homes in Queensland were without power following the storm.

The Townsville mayor, Jenny Hill, urged motorists to stay off the roads, avoid unnecessary travel and be careful of fallen powerlines and debris.

“Council, emergency services and Ergon were still assessing the situation throughout the wider region,” Hill said. “There’s the threat of broken powerlines and fallen trees. Now is the time to assess the situation in and around your homes and begin clearing any debris safely.”

Outages across Townsville have impacted power supply to four reservoirs and 18 water sites across the city.

Residents have been urged to conserve water as crews work to restore power to critical infrastructure.

“Check around your home for leaks, reuse water where you can, avoid washing down debris and take short showers,” Hill said.

Robyn Johnstone was one of the tens of thousands of Townsville residents who woke up without power this morning.

Johnstone lives in the suburb of Hermit Park and said she was thankful she only lost a small tree to Kirrily.

On a drive through her neighbourhood on Friday morning, Johnstone surveyed the damage, observing fallen branches and debris littering the roads.

“The cyclone sounded like a ghost howling. It was pretty windy. There was lots of rain,” she told Guardian Australia.

At 28, Johnstone has lived through Cyclone Yasi in 2011 and the 2019 floods. She said her community was feeling optimistic – even with heavy rainfall and strong winds still forecast.

“People [up here] are pretty resilient. A lot of people just think the worst of it is gone.”

There would be no Australia Day award ceremonies or council events, the MP for Hinchinbrook, Nick Dametto, said. Instead, Dametto said the community would be doing “possibly the most Aussie thing of all”.

“That’s banding together to help our mates, to help a neighbouring and most of all to help a stranger,” he wrote on Facebook.