Large parts of north Queensland are set to be battered by days of heavy rain, with some areas expected to receive up to 500mm in the coming week, according to the weather bureau.
The Bureau of Meteorology has issued a severe weather warning for heavy rainfall in the gulf region, and is expected to issue another for the coastal region around Townsville later today.
It has also issued flood warnings in the gulf, with a flood watch active for parts of north-western Queensland and the tropical north coast.
BoM senior meteorologist Andrea Peace said parts of the gulf region, such as Mount Isa, had received between 30 and 80mm of rain in the past day or so, with isolated areas receiving up to 120mm.
The same areas are expected to receive up to 100mm of rain on Sunday.
Peace said the system was very broad and was gradually intensifying, while remaining “almost stationary”. It will “impact Queensland at least for the next three to four days”, she said.
“We are expecting to pick up a lot more rainfall through that region in the coming days,” she said.
Pearce said the system would move farther east on Tuesday and Wednesday.
“Seeing totals in excess of 500mm broadly across the region this week is not out of the question,” she said.
Pearce said there was a risk to livestock, comparing the rain event to the 2019 Townsville flood that caused massive inland flooding.
The Queensland police minister, Dan Purdie, said the state disaster coordinator had spent the past week preparing for the potential flood.
“The biggest concern in north-west Queensland is livestock and fodder, and the plan is in place to drop fodder [if roads are cut off],” Purdie said.
The bureau has issued a moderate flood warning for the town of Winton, with the Diamantina River expected to flood on Sunday.
There is also a longer-term major flood warning for Walkers Bend, for the Flinders and Cloncurry catchments. Flooding is expected in Cloncurry today.
A second system is expected to cause heavy rain in the coastal regional around Townsville and Cairns. The area has already seen totals of about 100mm in the past day.
Peace said the area is likely to see an additional 60 to 80mm today, with up to 200mm in isolated pockets. On Monday it will intensify with totals of 70 to 120mm, with some areas seeing 300mm or more.
“At this stage, our flood team is looking at issuing some flood warnings, particularly for the regions around just to the north of Townsville, around the Bohle River,” she said.
The wild weather is being driven by a monsoon trough inland and a monsoon low offshore, both driven by very high sea surface temperatures. It’s likely to continue all week, with rain slackening off later in the week, Peace said.
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