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| Situation Update No. 1 Ref.no.: FL-20100302-25167-AUS
Situation Update No. 1
On 2010-03-02 at 09:14:06 [UTC]
Event: Flood
Location: Australia State of Queensland Charleville, Roma Number of Evacuated: 600 person(s)
Situation: As many as 600 people are expected to spend the night in emergency accommodation after floods hit the southwest Queensland towns of Roma and Charleville. Extra State Emergency Service (SES) and fire crews, Red Cross volunteers, pumps and flood boats are on their way to the towns, while evacuation centres have been set up at the Charleville showgrounds and Roma RSL hall. Heavy falls have also isolated the towns of Quilpie, Bedourie and Birdsville - which received close to their yearly average rainfall in three days. The monsoonal system that brought falls of up to 260mm over the past three days in southwest Queensland, and drenched other parts of the state, is now moving south-southwest through northern NSW and into South Australia. "We expect the worst is past," Emergency Management Queensland acting chief officer Bruce Grady told reporters in Brisbane. Flooding peaked in Bradley's Gully in Charleville on Tuesday afternoon. Emergency Services Minister Neil Roberts, who grew up in Charleville, said flooding was part of life in the southwest. "It's really practically not possible to actually build levees on either side of the gully," he said, declaring Roma and Charleville disaster zones and providing flood relief payments to locals. Charleville's nursing home was evacuated. Charleville hospital will be closed with patients being evacuated to Brisbane, Queensland Health says. "We have met with the Charleville Emergency Management Group and have made plans for the evacuation of all Charleville Hospital patients," said South West Health Service District CEO Ms Maree Geraghty on Tuesday.
Four acute patients will be flown to Brisbane by Royal Flying Doctor Service, while 26 other patients will be flown by charter flights to Brisbane. The 26 patients will be taken to various aged care facilities in Brisbane. Remaining patients at the hospital will be transferred to the emergency operations centre at the Charleville showgrounds. "At this stage no flood water has entered the hospital building, but it is expected that Charleville Hospital will be closed for at least 24 hours, Ms Geraghty said. Residents requiring medical treatment have been asked to go to the emergency operations centre at the showgrounds. Mark O'Brien, mayor of Murweh Shire which takes in Charleville, said the flood was the worst he'd seen. "We were hoping that it wasn't going to be this high, but there's nothing you can do about the man that sends the rain," he said. "We're weary. We hate it." A woman and her son were plucked to safety after their car flipped on its side in fast-flowing waters near the Warrego Highway near Charleville. A woman was rescued from floodwaters in Roma. Quilpie mayor David Edwards said the town had received almost its average yearly rainfall of 300mm in the past three days. "I was born here and have been here all my life, and this has been the best summer (for rain) since 1976," he said. Parts of the southwest have been drought-declared since 2002 and have been on severe water restrictions. Federal MP Bruce Scott estimated the flooding could cost millions of dollars.
"There will be millions of dollars in personal loss such as damage to property, destroyed fences, damaged homes and possible loss of livestock," Mr Scott said. "The road damage is also enormous. These shires from Merwah through to Maranoa regional council are disaster zones." There's also been heavy rain across Queensland's southeast corner, causing localised flooding and traffic problems in Brisbane and on the Gold and Sunshine coasts. In north Queensland, emergency crews saved a 54-year-old man found clinging to a tree near Townsville after his car was inundated. Parts of north Queensland have received more than 300mm over the past week. |  | | | |
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