Please note, although your
property may not have been directly affected by this flood event,
the event has been included in your suburb listing because
according to the Bureau of
Meteorology river gauge data, a catchment near your suburb recorded
a high mark. This event may have affected your
suburb.
Tropical Cyclone Sid brought about heavy rain and wide spread
flooding to multiple areas in the northern regions of Queensland,
particularly between Cairns and Townsville. Townsville recorded 549
mm of rain in a 24 hour period and as a result 50 per cent of the
town lost their power supply. Included in this period was
120.6 mm in one hour and 205.2 mm in two hours.
Other major areas affected included Blue Water Creek, Black
River, Rollingstone, Paluma, Ingham, Halifax and Charters Towers.
The heavy deluge brought about extensive damage throughout the
affected regions. Infrastructure including roads, highways,
bridges, railways and power lines were badly disrupted. Furthermore
the flash flood inundated multiple buildings and houses along with
wide spread damage to both agriculture and horticulture industries.
The flood waters ruined crops particularly the cane growers. As a
result there was a major damage bill associated with this
event.
The Insurance Council of Australia estimated the 1998 damage at
$71m, with the 2007 estimated repeated cost of $154m. Bluewater
Creek and Black River responded very quickly to the torrential
rainfall which commenced on the afternoon and evening of Saturday
10th. Flash flooding occurred in Townsville and the surrounds, with
levels metres higher than previously recorded. Major flooding
resulted in large areas of the city. Thuringowa was inundated with
significant damage to houses and businesses. Due to the mitigating
effect of the Ross River dam, flood levels in the Ross River below
the Dam peaked some 48 hours after the heavy rainfall.
On Magnetic Island a huge landslide caused major damage to a
tourist complex. The small communities of Black River and Bluewater
suffered extensive damage from flash flooding. Flooding impacted on
48 houses with the majority rendered uninhabitable 14 were totally
destroyed with 8 washed away. One hundred houses experienced over
floor flooding in Halifax and Ingham. There was also extensive
damage to the rural sector.
In a flash flood in Townsville, one man drowned, there were 100
houses with substantial over floor flooding, and hundreds more
suffered property flooding. Numerous cars were flooded. Record
river levels were experienced at Mt Bohle (8.23m - 0.68m above next
highest); at Ross River (2.72m - 0.66m above next highest); at
Bluewater Creek (9.7m - 2.55m above next highest flood) where 40
houses were seriously damaged; and at Black River (9.38m - 1.13m
above next highest flood) where the majority of 48 damaged houses
were rendered uninhabitable, 14 were totally destroyed and 8 were
washed away.