Flood victims wait to return home amid pleas for help

Marty Silk and Nick Gibbs | March 15, 2023

People are unable to return to their homes in two flooded northwest Queensland communities after they were evacuated amid record floods.

All but two of Urandangi’s 20 residents were evacuated before the swollen Georgina River started lapping at the sides of buildings in their hamlet, southwest of Mount Isa, at the weekend.

A LifeFlight helicopter flew two police officers out to check on the pair after they were unable to be contacted on Wednesday.

“Both people clearly signalled to the crew that they are well and safe to remain,” the charity said.

Damage estimated at hundreds of millions of dollars has been caused to homes, businesses, cattle stations, roads and ports after drenching, late monsoon rains left a vast inland sea covering the region.

It’s still unsafe for people who were evacuated by helicopter from Burketown, north of Mount Isa, to return to their homes with police telling those who stayed behind to avoid floodwaters after crocodile sightings.

Queensland Recovery Authority chief executive Jake Elwood has arrived in Mount Isa to tour recovery efforts and emergency fodder drops to stock have begun.

The state government is offering grants of up to $180 for individuals or $900 for families, but local state MP Robbie Katter says that amount is “almost an insult” for people who have lost everything.

“We’re used to looking after ourselves in the Gulf and if the government’s not gonna look after us we’ll have after ourselves,” Mr Katter said on Wednesday.

“It’s a shame it’s come to that but people are crying out for help up there. 

“There’s a lot of mental distress at the moment because you’ve lost everything and 180 bucks is not even gonna buy groceries for the week.”

Flood repairs to the Barkley Highway, the main sealed road link between Queensland and the Northern Territory, will take at least a week and scores of dirt and gravel roads that link cattle stations to the outside world are still underwater.

Mr Katter said some roads could be closed for another seven weeks which would hamper the recovery, cattle producers and the fishing industry, which has had a bumper prawn harvest that it can’t get to the market.

“There’s some very big problems; you can’t get groceries on shelves in Mount Isa at the moment, we’re cut off,” he said.

Federal Emergency Management Minister Murray Watt said the army was available if necessary, but said the state has turned down the offer.

Queensland Agriculture Minister Mark Furner plans to visit the northwest next week, but Mr Katter urged him and a federal government minister to go up sooner because locals want someone on the ground “to say: we care”.

“A strong breeze blows through Brisbane or Sydney and they’ll be out with the raincoats and … you’ll see the premiers and prime ministers in raincoats doing their media coverage, but here we are in the Gulf by virtue of our geographic isolation we’ve had no coverage,” he said.