‘Sitting ducks’: rain-hit region’s flood gauge concerns

Laine Clark, Rex Martinich and Robyn Wuth | January 14, 2026

Graziers in a rain-sodden region have become “sitting ducks” as they brace for more wild weather, prompting calls for more federal flood gauge investment.

Queensland Premier David Crisafulli fears graziers will be blindsided after yet another round of heavy rain is forecast for the northwest following ex-Tropical Cyclone Koji.

Graziers complained flood gauges linked to the Bureau of Meteorology website were offline in the region when a monsoon hit recently, triggering a devastating deluge.

Floodwaters have killed more than 50,000 livestock, with numbers set to increase as the remnants of Koji move slowly across the northern inland on Wednesday.

“What worries me greatly is that many of these catchments are so full already and small amounts of rain that they normally can handle will lead to some really compounding problems at a really difficult time,” Mr Crisafulli said.

“My other fear is that in many cases they get blindsided because they don’t get the information because there aren’t the rain gauges in large parts of that countryside. 

“And that leaves them as sitting ducks.”

The premier called for more federal flood gauge investment to ensure graziers received accurate data at critical times.

“I want to thank those people who work in the bureau … and I want to recommit my efforts to help get them the resources they deserve,” he said.

Grazier Ashley Gallagher, owner of Sawtell Station near the Gulf town Normanton, said four nearby gauges were out of action and he received no information before the latest deluge.

“The Norman River runs right through my property so it’s vital you know what’s coming,” he told AAP.

“We need to know that we have to shift them (livestock) and get them to high ground.”

Mr Gallagher said it was hard to tell how many stock he had lost and he might not know until as late as May.

“These gauges didn’t work last year and nobody’s bothered to fix them,” he said.

“I spend a couple of hours on the phone speaking to people upstream to see what’s happening.”

A bureau spokesperson said there were over 4500 rain and river gauges in Queensland with about a third owned by the bureau and the rest owned mostly by local and state governments.

“In Queensland there are more than 70 organisations that own and manage flood warning infrastructure,” the spokesperson said.

“Due to its size, scale, complexity, and the multiple purposes for which gauges exist, the status of the flood warning network is always changing.

“In addition, during significant flood events it is not uncommon for gauges to be damaged, for example, by flood waters or debris.”

The bureau did not rely solely on gauges and also used satellites, radars, soil moisture predictions and weather forecasts to inform flood warnings, the spokesperson said.

As the northwest braces for more rain, the clean-up has begun in central Queensland after the former cyclone triggered flash flooding and multiple rescues.

The outback town of Clermont was isolated at one stage after it copped the wettest day in its 110-year history.

Major flood warnings remain for the lower Flinders River along with the Georgina, Connors-Isaac and Mackenzie rivers.

About 1000 properties were still without power late on Tuesday, with 24 local governments activated for disaster recovery funding.