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Above: Rainfall for
the week to 9am today. BoM  |
 Rain
continues, flooding spreads in QLD
Rivers in NW, SW and SE QLD began to rise above minor flood level
today as monsoonal rain continued to give widely spread falls of 50 to 150mm
in the
24 hours to 9am. The unusually broad spread of heavy falls can be
seen in the wettest listing,
with 11 of QLD's 19 rainfall districts reporting falls in excess of 50mm. The
five highest totals were 157.4 at Morstone Station and 150.8 at Kingfisher
Camp in the Gulf
Country, 153.0 at Ballymena (55km NNW of Goondiwindi) on the eastern Darling
Downs, 134.4 at Aramac in the Central West and 129.0 at Menavale (85km S of
Cairns) on the North Coast. At Aramac and many places in the Central West it
is the first substantial rain in a year to 18 months.
As the map above shows, much of Central Western QLD has recorded between 100
and 200mm in the past week, most falling in the past 3 or 4 days. The rain
gives hope of an end to drought conditions which still officially cover 66%
of the state.
However, QLD Department of Primary Industries climatologist Dr Roger Stone
warned today that while the rain may ease the drought, much more was needed.
He told AAP "It may not be enough to help a lot of the pasture species survive
the drought. We need a massive amount of rainfall to recharge the river systems
and ground water supplies. It may take many hundreds, if not a thousand
millimetres to redress the problem."
With heavy
rain likely to continue, widespread moderate to major flooding is being forecast
in inland and Gulf rivers which may last for weeks because of the generally
flat
terrain. This wrap-up of the current situation also gives a brief introduction
to these unusual rivers to set the scene. The rivers are introduced
from northwest
to southeast.
- Gregory, Nicholson and Leichhardt: These rivers empty
into the SE corner of the Gulf of Carpentaria near Burketown, draining the
country to the west, southwest and south respectively. Up to 300mm has fallen
in this area over the past week, with falls of 100 to 150mm in the past 24
hours. Minor flooding is currently being experienced in all three systems.
- Diamantina: This basin drains into the southwest of the
state, crossing into SA near Birdsville. Here it meets the Georgina and
the combined waters fill Goyder
Lagoon
which
drains
(occasionally) to Lake Eyre via the Warburton. Minor flooding is occurring
at Elderslie west of Winton, which has recorded 109mm
in the past 2 days.
- Cooper Creek: The Thomson and Barcoo drain much of Central
Western QLD, and join to form Cooper Creek at Windorah. Cooper Creek crosses
into SA at Innamincka then loses itself in innumerable channels through the
Sturt Stony Desert before (occasionally) reaching Lake Eyre. Blackall, in
the upper reaches of the Barcoo, has had 261mm in the past 4 days. Minor
to
moderate flooding is occurring from upstream of Blackall nearly to Windorah
as a result
of scattered heavy rain entering the Barcoo along much of its length. The
134mm at Aramac in the last day (218mm in 4 days) is causing moderate flooding
at Aramac, which peaked at 3.0m this afternoon, and will flow down Aramac
Creek into the Thomson where there is already minor flooding from local
rain.
Longreach Shire Council lifted
water
restrictions today in anticipation of the first flow into the weir on the
Thomson River in 11 months.
- Bulloo: The Bulloo catchment borders Cooper Creek to the
east. The only towns it passes are Quilpie and Thargomindah, after which
it loses itself in sandy country near the QLD/NSW border. Minor flooding
was reported at Adavale and moderate flooding at Milroy farther downstream.
The
heaviest
rain has
been
66mm in
the day
to
9am at
Idalia National Park in the far north of the catchment, bordering the Blackall
area.
- Paroo: The Paroo catchment lies east of the Bulloo, and
flows into NSW at Hungerford, disappearing into sandy country south of Wanaaring.
Few rainfall measurements are available, but minor flooding is rising at
gauging stations in the upper Paroo and near the QLD/NSW border.
- Condamine/Balonne: This catchment borders the Paroo to
the east and drains much of SE QLD. It is actually one river, the Condamine
suddenly becoming the Balonne in the middle of nowhere at Cotswold, 150km
west of Dalby. The Balonne continues to St George, below which it breaks
into many channels, most of which drain into the Darling River in NSW. Moderate
to heavy falls 3 and 4 days ago have been followed by torrential falls overnight
to
the
east
and
southeast
of
Roma.
Roma Airport
recorded 99.8mm for the 24 hours to 9 this morning, its
heaviest
January
1-day total in 18 years of record. However, all except 0.2mm of this total
fell
in the 12 hours from 9pm and 9am. Other heavy 24 hour falls (though probably
12-hour) were 121mm at Warkon and 118mm at Yuleba. There have been
strong river
rises
in the
upper
Balonne and its main tributaries.
- Weir and Macintyre: The Weir and Macintyre Rivers drain
the area south of the Condamine/ Balonne and across the border into NSW.
The Macintyre becomes the Barwon near Boomi, and the Weir empties into the
Barwon soon after. The same heavy rainband that drenched the Roma area extended
south to Goondiwindi overnight,
giving
the
town 101.6mm
between
9pm and 9am.
Heavy
24-hour totals
to the north of Goondiwindi (which are likely to be the result of rain mostly
falling 9pm to 9am) included Ballymena 153mm, Ripple Downs 125.6 and Medpark
Park 109mm. Minor flooding is occurring at Ballymena
on the Weir. At Ashford
NSW on the Severn River which flows into the Macintyre, moderate flooding
was occurring this evening after an average of 90mm was recorded across that
catchment in the 24 hours to
3pm. Glenorchy on Frazers Creek just upstream of Ashford reported 136mm in
the 24 hours to 9pm, 91 of which fell between 3 and 9am. Wallangra Station,
20km NW of Ashford, recorded the top
fall
in NSW
for the
24 hours
to 9am with 94mm. An unofficial gauge at Nullamanna, 22k NNE of Inverell,
recorded 120mm between 2am and 4.30pm.
 Downpours
in Brisbane causes local flooding
Areas of heavy rain moved SE down the Brisbane Valley and across Brisbane
Metro today producing local flooding. One gave areas west of the City falls
of up to 100mm between 1 and 3pm. Kenmore Hills recorded 98mm in the two hours
(65mm
between
2pm and
3pm) and Indooroopilly 69mm. A major downpour moved across the CBD and areas
to the north and east between 9pm and
midnight,
giving
between
50
and
100mm. Some of the higher hourly falls were Geebung (W of Brisbane Airport)
64mm 9-10pm, Hemmant (W of Manly) 59mm 10-11pm, Ransome (S of Manly) 63mm 11pm-midnight
and Manly 40mm 11pm-midnight and 74mm midnight-1am. Top falls for the 24 hours
to 9am
Thursday
were Kenmore Hills 136 and Indooroopilly 111 in the west and Manly 158, Ransome
155 and Capalaba 150 in the east.
Rain
eases in NT
Rain eased across the NT Top End today as the monsoon low
responsible moved away to the southeast after giving general falls of 100 to
300mm over the past week. Moderate flooding continues
in the
middle reaches of the Daly River in the Territory's northwest.
News sources: AAP, ABC |
