{"id":2971,"date":"2019-02-05T14:12:45","date_gmt":"2019-02-05T14:12:45","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/baileyonlineclassroom.com\/eastasiaandoceaniablog\/?p=2971"},"modified":"2019-02-05T14:12:45","modified_gmt":"2019-02-05T14:12:45","slug":"townsville-flooding-continues-as-hundreds-wait-for-waters-to-recede","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/baileyonlineclassroom.com\/eastasiaandoceaniablog\/2019\/02\/05\/townsville-flooding-continues-as-hundreds-wait-for-waters-to-recede\/","title":{"rendered":"Townsville flooding continues as hundreds wait for waters to recede"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><a href=\"https:\/\/www.abc.net.au\/news\/2019-02-04\/townsville-flood-police-cling-to-tree-trapped-in-floodwaters\/10775478\"><strong>RELATED STORY:<\/strong>&nbsp;Hundreds evacuated as Townsville braces for more rain<\/a><a href=\"https:\/\/www.abc.net.au\/news\/2019-02-04\/townsvillle-flood-crisis-in-pictures\/10777212\"><strong>RELATED STORY:<\/strong>&nbsp;How Townsville&#8217;s flood crisis unfolded in pictures<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Two bodies have been found in floodwaters in the Townsville suburb of Aitkenvale this afternoon.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Key points:<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\"><li>The Townsville Mayor warns the flood threat isn&#8217;t over with more rain forecast into next week<\/li><li>Bluewater records rainfall of 1.8 metres in seven days<\/li><li>The SES fielded calls for 400 jobs overnight and rescued a man trapped on the roof of his car<br><\/li><\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Police had been searching for two men in their 20s after an alleged break and enter in the area.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The pair was last seen early Monday, with fears they may have been swept away.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Overnight, emergency crews ferried dozens of people to higher ground and saved a man stranded on the roof of a car in suburbs north of Townsville as floodwaters rose again.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Queensland Fire and Emergency Service (QFES) crews were called 95 times to help people to safety in Bluewater, north of Townsville, after intense rainfall caused more flash flooding in the suburb \u2014 the town recorded 1.8 metres of rain within seven days.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image\"><a href=\"https:\/\/www.abc.net.au\/news\/2019-02-05\/police-search-the-scene-where-two-bodies-were-found-in-a-drain\/10783480\"><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/www.abc.net.au\/news\/image\/10783478-3x2-700x467.jpg\" alt=\"Police search the scene where two bodies were found in a drain.\" \/><\/a><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><a href=\"https:\/\/www.abc.net.au\/news\/2019-02-05\/police-search-the-scene-where-two-bodies-were-found-in-a-drain\/10783480\"><strong>PHOTO:<\/strong>&nbsp;Police search the scene where the two bodies were found.&nbsp;(AAP: Dan Peled)<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The State Emergency Service (SES) fielded calls for 400 jobs overnight with one man rescued after becoming trapped on the roof of his car in Bluewater.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><a href=\"https:\/\/www.abc.net.au\/news\/2019-02-05\/how-can-the-ross-river-dam-be-over-200-per-cent-capacity\/10775502#How%20can%20the%20Ross%20River%20Dam%20be%20more%20than%20200%%20capacity?\">How can the Ross River Dam be more than 200 per cent capacity?<\/a><\/h2>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image\"><a href=\"https:\/\/www.abc.net.au\/news\/2019-02-05\/how-can-the-ross-river-dam-be-over-200-per-cent-capacity\/10775502#How%20can%20the%20Ross%20River%20Dam%20be%20more%20than%20200%%20capacity?\"><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/www.abc.net.au\/cm\/lb\/10780282\/data\/ross-river-dam-data.jpg\" alt=\"How can the Ross River Dam be more than 200 per cent capacity?\" \/><\/a><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><a href=\"https:\/\/www.abc.net.au\/news\/2019-02-05\/how-can-the-ross-river-dam-be-over-200-per-cent-capacity\/10775502#How%20can%20the%20Ross%20River%20Dam%20be%20more%20than%20200%%20capacity?\">The unprecedented rain event in Townsville causes the north Queensland city&#8217;s Ross River Dam to reach more than 200 per cent capacity, but how is this possible?<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Meanwhile, residents in the small community of Balgal Beach, about 50 kilometres north-east of Townsville, spent the morning cleaning up after 200mm of rain overnight.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Gwen Cooms called her local police officer when she woke to water swirling at her front door in the middle of the night.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Police officer Darren Haggarty said he was not expecting what he saw when he arrived.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">&#8220;I just couldn&#8217;t believe what I saw \u2026 there were just wades of water coming through the shed and [patio] \u2014 it was just like a tsunami,&#8221; he said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Ms Cooms said some belongings could not be replaced.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">&#8220;A washing machine and a dryer probably, you can buy that again can&#8217;t you. But the thing I worry about is photos that you can&#8217;t replace,&#8221; she said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<blockquote class=\"wp-block-quote is-layout-flow wp-block-quote-is-layout-flow\"><p>&#8220;I lost a little girl when she was three-and-a-half and I can&#8217;t replace that photo, so it&#8217;s pretty sad.&#8221;<\/p><\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image\"><a href=\"https:\/\/www.abc.net.au\/news\/2019-02-05\/homes-surrounded-by-floodwater-at-railway-estate\/10780886\"><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/www.abc.net.au\/news\/image\/10780866-3x2-700x467.jpg\" alt=\"Homes surrounded by floodwater at Railway Estate.\" \/><\/a><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><a href=\"https:\/\/www.abc.net.au\/news\/2019-02-05\/homes-surrounded-by-floodwater-at-railway-estate\/10780886\"><strong>PHOTO:<\/strong>&nbsp;Water is slowly receding in some Townsville suburbs but homes in Railway Estate are still surrounded by water.&nbsp;(ABC News: Sofie Wainwright)<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Resident Michael Nieminen said floodwaters rose rapidly again at his Bluewater property.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">&#8220;Last night it was crazy,&#8221; he said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">&#8220;We had another lot of flash flooding come through \u2014 we had water come right up in the back yard again, similar to last week \u2014 not as high luckily, but a lot of rain and a lot of water up stream.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<blockquote class=\"wp-block-quote is-layout-flow wp-block-quote-is-layout-flow\"><p>&#8220;It&#8217;s really quiet here at the moment because everyone is just that tired because everyone&#8217;s been cleaning for the last few days trying to pick up the pieces.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">&#8220;Especially the poor people that had their houses flooded.&#8221;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Valarie Thompson said she was awoken by the rain at 2:00am and hasn&#8217;t been able to leave her Forestry Road home since Saturday.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">&#8220;It was absolutely pouring with rain so I&#8217;m a bit tired now. We were keeping our eye out under the house to see if it would come back again,&#8221; she said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Flood risk to continue into next week<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Space to play or pause, M to mute, left and right arrows to seek, up and down arrows for volume.<a href=\"https:\/\/www.abc.net.au\/news\/2019-02-05\/drone-shows-extent-of-townsville-flooding\/10781198\"><strong>VIDEO:<\/strong>&nbsp;Drone shows extent of Townsville flooding&nbsp;(ABC News)<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The Bureau of Meteorology (BOM) said the monsoon trough will remain active for days \u2014 and with it the risk of more flash flooding.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">&#8220;There is an end in sight but we&#8217;re expecting further periods of heavy rainfall, some of it very heavy, about the north-east tropics for the next few days between about Cardwell and Mackay,&#8221; BOM forecaster Richard Wardle said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">He said severe weather warnings would likely remain in place for the Herbert, Lower Burdekin, and central coast for several days.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">&#8220;With that we expect to see more episodes of that real intense heavy rainfall that could lead to flash flooding,&#8221; he said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">&#8220;We see the flood risk continuing for the remainder of the week and into next week, particularly for those larger river systems.&#8221;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Space to play or pause, M to mute, left and right arrows to seek, up and down arrows for volume.<a href=\"https:\/\/www.abc.net.au\/news\/2019-02-05\/tinnie-ride-around-townsville-shows-floodwaters\/10783064\"><strong>VIDEO:<\/strong>&nbsp;Tinnie ride around Townsville shows floodwaters&nbsp;(ABC News)<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Possibly thousands of homes flooded<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image\"><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/pbs.twimg.com\/amplify_video_thumb\/1092547689634357250\/img\/HZS4wASGDUPuZRK_?format=jpg&amp;name=360x360\" alt=\"Embedded video\" \/><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image\"><a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/BOM_Qld\"><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/pbs.twimg.com\/profile_images\/1065842149772558338\/8T_MNye2_normal.jpg\" alt=\"\" \/><\/a><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/BOM_Qld\"><strong>Bureau of Meteorology, Queensland<\/strong><strong>\u2714<\/strong>@BOM_Qld<\/a><a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/BOM_Qld\/status\/1092550447577976832\"><\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Drone vision of the Burdekin River in flood over Macrossan Bridge, west of <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/hashtag\/Townsville?src=hash\">#Townsville<\/a>\u2014taken by Charters Towers Regional Council. There are numerous warnings in effect around the region: Stay up to date <a href=\"https:\/\/t.co\/CQJkcaE1rm\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\" target=\"_blank\">http:\/\/www.bom.gov.au\/qld\/warnings&nbsp;<\/a>. <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/QldFES\">@QldFES<\/a> <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/hashtag\/TownsvilleFloods?src=hash\">#TownsvilleFloods<\/a> <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/hashtag\/BigWet?src=hash\">#BigWet<\/a> <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/hashtag\/QldFloods?src=hash\">#QldFloods<\/a><a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/intent\/like?tweet_id=1092550447577976832\">166<\/a><a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/BOM_Qld\/status\/1092550447577976832\">5:28 PM &#8211; Feb 4, 2019<\/a><a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/BOM_Qld\/status\/1092550447577976832\">149 people are talking about this<\/a><a href=\"https:\/\/support.twitter.com\/articles\/20175256\">Twitter Ads info and privacy<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">QFES Commissioner Katarina Carroll said flooding had hampered official checks but thousands of homes may have had water over their floorboards.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">&#8220;If I was to say several hundred I could get that wrong \u2014 it might be thousands,&#8221; she said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">&#8220;Particularly when you get the aerial shots and you go into the suburbs that are effected it&#8217;s easily hundreds and it could be thousands \u2026 I couldn&#8217;t give you an accurate figure at this stage.&#8221;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">About 1,000 people in Townsville have been evacuated from their homes and more evacuation centres were opened on Monday to house those who had nowhere else to go.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Prime Minister Scott Morrison toured Townsville on Tuesday meeting with residents whose homes had been flooded.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">&#8220;You get inside and that&#8217;s where you see all the damage,&#8221; Mr Morrison said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">&#8220;It&#8217;s not just the property damage, it&#8217;s the shock.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">&#8220;I mean these were their dream homes, they&#8217;ve come and they&#8217;ve built them \u2026 and a year down the track they&#8217;re facing this.&#8221;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image\"><a href=\"https:\/\/www.abc.net.au\/news\/2019-02-05\/dave-mitchell-helps-clean-his-brothers-flood-affected-motel-in\/10783484\"><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/www.abc.net.au\/news\/image\/10783482-3x2-700x467.jpg\" alt=\"Dave Mitchell, covered in mud, holds a broom as he helps clean his brother's flood-affected motel in Townsville.\" \/><\/a><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><a href=\"https:\/\/www.abc.net.au\/news\/2019-02-05\/dave-mitchell-helps-clean-his-brothers-flood-affected-motel-in\/10783484\"><strong>PHOTO:<\/strong>&nbsp;Dave Mitchell helps clean his brother&#8217;s flood-affected motel in Townsville.&nbsp;(AAP: Dan Peled)<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">He said the recovery effort would be difficult.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">&#8220;People are rallying around and that&#8217;s fantastic. But in the next day it&#8217;s the shock as people come back into their homes and that&#8217;s when they&#8217;re going to need emotional support from friends and family and their community,&#8221; he said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">State Disaster Coordinator Bob Gee urged Townsville residents who left their homes to remained patient.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">&#8220;We&#8217;re in a difficult time, particularly in Townsville we&#8217;re in response mode \u2014 it&#8217;s not safe to go into those homes, it&#8217;s not safe to go into floodwaters,&#8221; Mr Gee said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">&#8216;There&#8217;s a bit of dread in my guts&#8217;<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Space to play or pause, M to mute, left and right arrows to seek, up and down arrows for volume.<a href=\"https:\/\/www.abc.net.au\/news\/2019-02-05\/floods-affected-areas-in-north-queensland.\/10779970\"><strong>VIDEO:<\/strong>&nbsp;Flooded streets in the suburb of Railway Estate&nbsp;(ABC News)<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Townsville resident Linda Davis said it had been &#8220;very rough&#8221;.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">&#8220;Trying to get back to my house I was being confronted by higher and higher water and this morning surprisingly it&#8217;s dropped and I can see the water didn&#8217;t get onto my floorboards so I&#8217;m very relieved but it&#8217;s just dreadful for people a little lower in my street,&#8221; she said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Townsville Mayor Jenny Hill said public health was crucial and work was being undertaken to remove food waste and fix any assets council could reach, including water and sewage.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image\"><a href=\"https:\/\/www.abc.net.au\/news\/2019-02-05\/two-soldiers-pull-a-kangaroo-out-of-floodwaters\/10781844\"><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/www.abc.net.au\/news\/image\/10781800-3x2-700x467.jpg\" alt=\"Two RAR soldiers pull a kangaroo out of floodwaters in Townsville.\" \/><\/a><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><a href=\"https:\/\/www.abc.net.au\/news\/2019-02-05\/two-soldiers-pull-a-kangaroo-out-of-floodwaters\/10781844\"><strong>PHOTO:<\/strong>&nbsp;Two RAR soldiers pull a kangaroo out of floodwaters in Townsville.&nbsp;(Supplied: David Lehr)<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Idalia residents Sue and Tony McClelland said they felt lucky their home was not more badly damaged when floodwaters crept in on Sunday night.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">&#8220;The raging was all out the front \u2026 we heard the fence break at one stage,&#8221; Ms McClelland said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">&#8220;We put plastic and whatever we could to hold water down and stop it getting in the crack under the door.&#8221;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The Bruce Highway has now reopened, allowing supplies to be brought into Townsville.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Ergon Energy warned it could still be days before power was restored to thousands of people without electricity.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">About 11,300 homes remain without power after it was cut to protect the safety of suburbs in the rising flood waters.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Some schools to reopen<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Twelve schools in the Townsville region will reopen on Wednesday. They include:<\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\"><li>Bwgcolman Community School<\/li><li>Cleveland Education and Training Centre<\/li><li>Garbutt State School<\/li><li>Home Hill State High School<\/li><li>Home Hill State School<\/li><li>Ingham State High School<\/li><li>Ingham State School<\/li><li>Jarvisfield State School<\/li><li>Macknade State School<\/li><li>Maidavale State School<\/li><li>North Shore State School<\/li><li>Victoria Plantation State School<\/li><\/ul>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>RELATED STORY:&nbsp;Hundreds evacuated as Townsville braces for more rainRELATED STORY:&nbsp;How Townsville&#8217;s flood crisis unfolded in pictures Two bodies have been found in floodwaters in the Townsville suburb of Aitkenvale this afternoon. Key points: The Townsville Mayor warns the flood threat isn&#8217;t over with more rain forecast into next week Bluewater records rainfall of 1.8 metres in seven days The SES&#8230; <a href=\"https:\/\/baileyonlineclassroom.com\/eastasiaandoceaniablog\/2019\/02\/05\/townsville-flooding-continues-as-hundreds-wait-for-waters-to-recede\/\">Read more &raquo;<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":94,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[3],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-2971","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-article"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/baileyonlineclassroom.com\/eastasiaandoceaniablog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2971","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/baileyonlineclassroom.com\/eastasiaandoceaniablog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/baileyonlineclassroom.com\/eastasiaandoceaniablog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/baileyonlineclassroom.com\/eastasiaandoceaniablog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/94"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/baileyonlineclassroom.com\/eastasiaandoceaniablog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2971"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/baileyonlineclassroom.com\/eastasiaandoceaniablog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2971\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":2972,"href":"https:\/\/baileyonlineclassroom.com\/eastasiaandoceaniablog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2971\/revisions\/2972"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/baileyonlineclassroom.com\/eastasiaandoceaniablog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2971"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/baileyonlineclassroom.com\/eastasiaandoceaniablog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2971"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/baileyonlineclassroom.com\/eastasiaandoceaniablog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2971"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}