Flooded north Queensland towns face continuing isolation with more rain forecast

Some areas are relying on supply drops from helicopters and planes as they brace for what may be a long wait for inundated roads to clear. Flood-hit communities may be isolated for more than a week in northern Australia after more rain was forecast for an already sodden region. Heavy rainfall that has lashed the north Queensland coast for days has spread west, cutting off towns near the Gulf of Carpentaria.

At least six communities have been isolated by flood waters after northwest areas between Georgetown and Normanton received more than 300mm of rainfall overnight. Some areas are relying on supply drops from helicopters and planes as they brace for what may be a long wait for inundated roads to clear. Sign up for Guardian Australia’s breaking news email. “Given the amount of water in those systems, it could be three-to-four days, it could be eight-to-10 days,” the Etheridge shire mayor, Barry Hughes, said of how long communities could be isolated.

Heavy rain and flash flooding is expected to hit Queensland’s Gulf country on Monday with falls up to 250mm over the next day. A severe weather warning stretches from the Gulf country across the tropical coast and down to the Burdekin region. Rainfall has spread west but continues to hit the north Queensland coast which has been lashed for more than a week, claiming two lives and forcing hundreds of residents to evacuate.

Rainfall is expected to ramp up until Wednesday between Tully and Ayr, including flood-hit regions like Ingham. Ingham was one of the worst hit, with the army stepping in to help rebuild a bridge crossing after the town was completely isolated by flood waters. Ingham residents lost power and food supplies were dwindling with locals at one stage told there was no running water. Flood waters claimed the lives of two women in the region after the nearby Herbert River, in the Hinchinbrook shire, broke a record level set in 1967.

“The flooding and isolation being felt in the Hinchinbrook Shire is something I’ve never seen before,” local MP Nick Dametto said. “Most of us are just running on fumes.”. Sign up to Breaking News Australia. Get the most important news as it breaks. after newsletter promotion. Power is set to be restored to every Ingham household by Monday night, more than a week after the substation was inundated.

About 1,600 residents remain without power across north Queensland, after about 30,000 were at one stage in the dark. Landslides, flood waters and fallen trees kept Ergon Energy crews busy as they tried to restore power. “This has been a huge event, very, very challenging from an access perspective,” Ergon Energy’s Kev Lavender told reporters. Some north Queensland coastal regions have already set February rainfall records just 10 days into the month after recording more than 1,500mm.