Queensland braces for ‘incredibly heavy rainfall’ and flash flooding

Parts of Queensland are bracing for severe weather next week, with the state’s far north and western outback regions on high alert for record-breaking rain and potential floods.

The rain is predicted to hit on Tuesday, with Premier Annastacia Palaszczuk urging residents to make preparations and heed safety advice.

“There’s going to be incredibly heavy rainfall so we want people to think very carefully over the weekend,” she said.

“Of course, some of our catchments are already saturated.”

The rain is not expected to be as heavy in the south-east, parts of which are still recovering from flooding earlier this year.

But North Queensland is expected to receive record-breaking showers for May.

“It’s very unusual to see this type of situation occurring in Far North Queensland, especially this time of year,” the premier said.

The rain event will be triggered by a low-pressure trough and upper low-pressure system mixing with tropical air and developing over inland Queensland, exacerbated by waning La Nina influences.

Regions likely to be most affected are Townsville and Ingham to Longreach, Windorah, Winton and Barcaldine in the west.

The rain event may also impact Rockhampton on the Central Queensland coast, Yeppoon and Gladstone.

David Grant from the Bureau of Meteorology (BoM) said flash flooding is likely in parts already saturated with rain from the Anzac Day long weekend.

“As a result, those catchments are going to be more responsive to this rainfall event as they would have been prior to that last event,” he said.

“Localised flash flooding will become a risk during the course of next week.”

The BoM will monitor the situation closely, with a flood watch possible over the coming days.

Police Commissioner Katarina Carroll urged residents to follow safety advice to prevent more flood fatalities.

“We have had a number of tragedies out of the last event, some 14 people passed away,” Carroll said.

“A lot of that was people driving through floodwaters or people being caught in floodwaters obviously rising.”

Residents are urged to keep up to date with warnings from the BoM and follow the advice of their local councils and emergency services.

“Please stay connected, please listen to the authorities, listen to those warnings and always, always if it’s flooded please forget it,” Carroll said.