Farmers are stuck in their homes with fears that fuel, medicines and food will soon run out as crocodiles are spotted in floodwaters
Sugarcane farmer Matthew Pappin, 52, has lived in the Ingham region his entire life but says he’s never seen a rain event like the one currently hammering North Queensland.
The QCAR Herbert District Committee Chairman Matthew Pappin has recorded well over 1000mm of rain since Friday morning at his 650-acre farm at Helens Hill, about a 20-minute drive south of Ingham.
‘Anxiety levels were through the roof’
“Late Sunday afternoon we had a phone call from a neighbour further upstream at Francis Creek saying there was an extraordinary amount of water coming towards here,” he said.
“It was just stressful, and anxiety levels were through the roof watching the water levels rise.
“You’re hopeless, you’re not going to stop it.”
Mr Pappin said 300mm of water went through their farmhouse’s lower level which was “extraordinary” when compared to the 75mm they experienced during the 1988 flood event.
He and his two sons, Luke and Benjamin, who also run farms, have spent each of the past few nights on watch with a torchlight, monitoring for rising floodwaters as Mr Pappin explained that unlike a Tropical Cyclone which blustered through unleashing its deluge of rainfall and leaving, “this thing’s still here”.
The Pappins had tried inspecting the damage to their paddocks but many crops, which were already standover cane, are unreachable by boat with Luke having to control loose cattle after equipment washed away and broke a fence.
“It’s scary but some of these poor residents in Ingham itself, I really do feel for them, it’s distressing,” Mr Pappin said.
Floodwaters cut off Ingham, Townsville
The township of Ingham and city of Townsville are both isolated from North Queensland after heavy rain sliced through a section of Ollera Creek Bridge on the Bruce Highway between Ingham and Townsville, and water shut the Macrossan Bridge on the Flinders Highway near Charters Towers.
Hinchinbrook Shire Council Deputy Mayor Mary Brown said they were struggling to even get from one side of Ingham’s CBD to the other.
“There is that much water around here and it still hasn’t peaked yet,” Ms Brown said on Monday afternoon, with 290mm falling in the 24 hours to 9am Tuesday (2 February).
She added there was only one fuel service station open in Ingham, which was restricting supply to emergency service vehicles and for refilling generators, as the nearby service station at Crystal Creek had no power.
QCAR Herbert District Manager Lawrence Di Bella said it was understood the other service station, Andy’s Roadhouse, was under water.
Meanwhile, there have been reports of crocodile sightings across flooded areas of North Queensland, with videos and photos circulated on social media, and ABC reporting one cane farming family in Tully stated, “there’s a bunch of crocodiles everywhere around here”.
Fears fuel, medicines, fresh food will run out
Mr Pappin said “bush people” like himself and his family were well-prepared to be isolated with well-stocked pantries and freezers but there were concerns regarding fuel running out for generators, restocking vital medicines, and fresh food supplies.
Ms Brown advised Hinchinbrook residents who needed medical supplies to not post for help on Facebook but to directly phone council, and if this was not possible due to telecommunication outages, to contact their Local Area Flood Warden (see: https://www.hinchinbrook.qld.gov.au/community-environment/disaster-and-emergency-information/local-area-wardens/)
“We will then make the necessary arrangements to have that medication transported to them,” she told QCAR.
QCAR contacted Telstra to ask about its plans to keep telecommunications live, but no response was received.
Thousands without power
An Ergon Energy spokeswoman told QCAR on Monday night that rising floodwaters had made it necessary for crews to de-energise the Ingham Substation for public safety.
“This is a bulk supply point for several thousand customers across Ingham and surrounding areas, so we appreciate the impacts on the community, including the staff from our local depot,” she said.
“Ingham has certainly borne the brunt of the flooding and power outages.”
The spokeswoman said they were devising a restoration plan for when floodwaters receded with crews needing to inspect and test the substation’s critical equipment, including transformers.
“They will also need to patrol the feeder lines and do damage assessments across a widespread area,” she added.
“Until we have been able to assess the damage, we cannot provide accurate restoration timeframes, but we are throwing everything at this response.
“While access is challenging at the moment, we have crews, vehicles and equipment ready to roll.
“Burdekin crews have done aerial patrols over the network that supplies Giru and begun restoring power to customers where safe to do so.
“Any homes that have been inundated will need to be inspected by a licenced electrical contractor, who can also do any repairs required, before we can safely reconnect them to the network.
“Estimated restoration timeframes will be published on our Online Outage Finder when they are available: Outage Finder text view | Ergon Energy (and) here is a link to information on our reconnection process: Getting reconnected after severe weather | Ergon Energy.”
Defence force to launch operation into Ingham
Until late Monday, there was no way in or out of Ingham with Hinchinbrook MP Nick Dametto posting he had managed to secure a flight home that evening.
“I must say I was filled with emotions as we got up and over the electorate and saw the absolute devastation that the damaging waters had caused,” Mr Dametto posted to Facebook.
“It broke me seeing what my hometown had been reduced to, a lake, a sea of water that had swallowed up our homes, crops and community.”
A Department of Defence spokesman told QCAR on Monday afternoon that the army was “just starting to roll on tasking for Hinchinbrook / Ingham with the 16th Army Aviation Brigade positioning aircraft in Townsville”.
“Initial recon flights are expected (Tuesday),” he said.
“We will update as information and actions are confirmed.”
Bureau maintains myriad flood warnings
As of Tuesday morning, there were 11 flood warnings in place across Queensland alongside a flood watch for parts of the Burdekin and Proserpine Catchments, and a Severe Weather Warning for parts of the North Tropical Coast, Tablelands, Herbert, and Lower Burdekin Districts.
Major flood warning areas included the Herbert River, Haughton River Catchment, and Upper Burdekin River.
Latest here: http://www.bom.gov.au/qld/warnings/
Higgins Storm Chasing posted to Facebook that Rollingstone, north of Townsville, had received almost 1500mm across three days, describing the rainfall recorded across areas between Townsville to Cairns as “mental”.
Truck drivers on standby
Queensland Trucking Association CEO Gary Mahon told QCAR they were expecting Ollera Creek Bridge to be out of action for at least a fortnight with between 70 to 80 trucks on standby at Charters Towers, drivers parked up in Mackay, and more still holding tight at opposite ends of Queensland getting rest until they received the all clear.
“It does seem like the only way we’re going to get around to Ingham at this stage is to go around the Gregory Developmental Rd,” Mr Mahon said on Monday afternoon.
“At the moment, it is cut, but we expect it might open in the next 24 hours or so, which would send us up through Greenvale, across Innisfail, and then come south.”
Mr Mahon explained the detour added about 400km to deliveries, with the necessary reconfigurations of trucking “outfits” further pushing up costs.
He added if floodwaters receded at Giru before Macrossan Bridge, “(they) can come in more quickly from the south”.
“We’ve got a lot of stock, a lot of outfits, we’re just waiting to see which ones (routes) will open up first … whether (drivers) go up the Bruce or come up the Inland Freight Route.”
Mr Mahon said it was “unacceptable” in 2025 to have sections of North Queensland isolated in floodwaters, adding the Macrossan Bridge could do with a “treatment” like the half-a-billion Haughton River Floodplain Upgrade making the Bruce Highway between Ayr and Townsville more flood resilient.
His sentiments were echoed by the Townsville, Hinchinbrook and Cairns Chambers of Commerce which called on the state and federal government to “fast-track funding and deploy emergency construction crews” to restore the Ollera Creek crossing.
State, federal government activate disaster assistance
The Queensland Reconstruction Authority (QRA) stated disaster assistance was available for flood impacted residents in the Local Government Areas of Burdekin, Cassowary Coast, Hinchinbrook and Palm Island, and targeted areas of Townsville and Gordonvale.
Impacted residents can check their eligibility and apply via www.qld.gov.au/disasterhelp or by calling the Queensland Community Recovery Hotline on 1800 173 349.
“Assistance is being provided through the joint Commonwealth-state Disaster Recovery Funding Arrangements (DRFA),” QRA posted to Facebook on Monday.
“Councils receiving DRFA assistance include Burdekin, Cairns, Cassowary Coast, Hinchinbrook, Palm Island, Tablelands, Townsville and Yarrabah.”
The National Emergency Management Agency has advised residents stay updated on joint federal and state government Disaster Recover Funding Arrangements (DRFA) via https://www.disasterassist.gov.au/Pages/disasters/queensland/nth-far-nth-tropical-low-commencing-29012025.aspx
A Queensland Rural and Industry Development Authority (QRIDA) spokeswoman provided a statement for QCAR members on Monday morning.
“As the event is still unfolding, the focus is still firmly on rescue, and human safety, however when this phase is over, the focus becomes firm on recovery response,” the QRIDA spokeswoman said.
“That is where QRIDA is involved in administering any of the activated grants and loans for recovery.
“At this point, we recommend for growers to prepare for the possible assistance applications in the following ways:
- When safe to do so – take photos of damage – this is very important
- Upload to the cloud or email themselves copies of documents that will be required (in case computers or physical documents are destroyed they can then be accessed remotely)
- Copies of IDs
- Rates notices/ lease agreements
- Financials
- Income Tax Records
- Soil test results (pre disaster)
- Bookmark https://www.qrida.qld.gov.au/primary-producers. Within hours of activation, the applications will be available online by clicking on this link
- Save QRIDA’s number – phone 1800 623 946 – The Client Services team can put growers through to the disaster team, or their Regional Area Manager, who can help them through any questions they have
More than 100 schools shut
Flooding has forced more than 100 schools to close across North Queensland including 66 state schools, 23 Catholic schools and 16 independent schools.
The Department of Education has recommended people visit its school closure website for the latest updates: https://closures.qld.edu.au/
Contact your QCAR District Manager:
HARDSHIP ASSISTANCE:
The Queensland Government stated personal hardship assistance was now available for residents affected by heavy rainfall and flooding within the Local Government Areas (LGA) of: Cairns (targeted addresses), Townsville (targeted addresses), Hinchinbrook (entire), and Palm Island (entire).
The Emergency Hardship Assistance grant is for help with essential needs, food, medication, clothing and temporary accommodation with $180 for individuals or up to $900 for families of 5 or more.
For more information, visit https://www.qld.gov.au/community/disasters-emergencies/disasters
GOVERNMENT UPDATES:
For the latest from the government on help for Queenslanders directly affected by a flooding disaster, visit the Services Australia website: https://www.servicesaustralia.gov.au/queensland-natural-disaster-support?context=60042
ROAD CONDITIONS, EMERGENCY BROADCASTS, WEATHER UPDATES & SES:
- Queensland Disaster Alerts (Police, Fire & Bureau of Meteorology): https://www.qld.gov.au/alerts
- Regional council emergency dashboards provide real-time updates related to your local area on road conditions, emergency broadcasts, weather warnings, power outages, river heights, plus emergency action guides and more. Links below.
- Main Roads provides real time updates on road closures and conditions via its https://qldtraffic.qld.gov.au/ website. You can also phone 13 19 40 for immediate access to information on road and traffic conditions or to report an incident.
Regional Council Emergency Dashboards
- Cassowary Coast: https://disaster.cassowarycoast.qld.gov.au/
- Charters Towers: https://getready.charterstowers.qld.gov.au/
- Cairns: https://disaster.cairns.qld.gov.au/
- Hinchinbrook: https://disaster.hinchinbrook.qld.gov.au/
- Townsville: https://disaster.townsville.qld.gov.au/
- Burdekin: https://disaster.burdekin.qld.gov.au/
- Whitsundays: https://disaster.whitsundayrc.qld.gov.au/
- Mackay: https://disaster.mackay.qld.gov.au/
- Isaac: https://dashboard.isaac.qld.gov.au/
REQUEST URGENT ASSISTANCE:
- Emergency calls: 000
- TTY Emergency calls: 106
- State Emergency Service (SES): 132 500, https://132500.qld.gov.au/ses-webapp/ or use the SES Assistance QLD App.
- 13 HEALTH: 13 43 25 84
- Emergency housing: 13 QGOV (13 74 68)
- Community Recovery Hotline: 1800 173 349
HOW TO ACCESS SUPPORT:
If you’re experiencing emotional stress and need support, contact:
- phone Lifeline’s crisis hotline on 13 11 14
- phone Beyond Blue 1300 22 4636
- phone Community Recovery Hotline on 1800 173 349
- or if you are an Aboriginal or Torres Strait Islander person call 13 YARN.
Housing assistance may also be available to residents affected by disaster events. More info here: https://www.qld.gov.au/housing/emergency-temporary-accommodation/housing-help-after-disaster
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