Cyclone leaves trail of damage as floods isolate towns

Robyn Wuth and Andrew Stafford | January 12, 2026

Dramatic footage of rising floodwaters has been captured as residents were warned to seek higher ground in the wake of an ex-tropical cyclone.

An emergency alert has been issued for central Queensland town Clermont with large parts of the state on flood watch as communities brace for the cyclone’s aftermath.

Category one Tropical Cyclone Koji weakened to a tropical low as it crossed the coast and slowly tracked inland through central Queensland, bringing heavy rain.

Cyclone warnings have been cancelled, but Koji’s impact was on Monday still being felt, with several people rescued and thousands without power and drinking water as rising floodwaters threatened.

Drone footage of the floodwaters inundating Clermont was captured by local Rodel Bingco before the emergency alert was issued by Isaac Regional Council.

“Flooding is happening now in Clermont,” the alert said on Monday afternoon.

“Residents in low lying areas should monitor conditions and be prepared to move to higher ground and if safe to do so, warn neighbours.”

The drone footage shows Gregory Highway cut by a vast amount of water surging towards Clermont, a coal-mining hub in the Bowen Basin southwest of Mackay.

“We are isolated at the moment, I haven’t seen rain like this for ages, it’s massive,” Mr Bingco, a boilermaker at South Walker Creek, told AAP.

“The railings of the bridge are under water. Cars are floating, oil drums are floating, tyres.”

West of Mackay, Eungella is set to be cut off for months, with the only road in and out destroyed by landslips and ruptures.

Joe Zhu, owner of the Broken River Mountain Resort, said his business was likely to lose up to $40,000 in bookings, including conferences.

Staff may be forced to consume supplies that had originally been bought for clientele while they waited for the road to re-open, he told AAP.

Footage posted to social media showed multiple landslides cutting off the road to Eungella.

“We can survive for the next week or 10 days, and it’s lucky we still have a lot of stock in the freezer – if longer, we have no idea what happens,” Mr Zhu said.

Mackay Mayor Greg Williamson said local and state authorities would work together in a bid to resupply the isolated town, which was running low on fuel and medical supplies.

Koji’s impact marked the most significant start to the wet season in years, with local falls of 400-600mm in 48 hours, he said.

“There’s been a lot of rain and I don’t want to sound complacent, but we are used to a lot of rain,” Cr Williamson told AAP.

Several people were rescued overnight after ex-Cyclone Koji made landfall between Ayr and Bowen in the state’s north on Sunday as a low, bringing heavy rain.

Water supply was disrupted in some regions with drinking water unavailable to homes in Gargett and Pinnacle, between Mackay and Eungella.

Premier David Crisafulli on Monday thanked Queensland communities for their “calm and resilience” during the event.

Yet he was worried about the risk of further flooding, saying there was the potential for “some really heavy rain in the (next) 24-48 hours”.

Flood warnings remain across north and central Queensland with concerns for the Channel Country after a monsoon earlier devastated the region, isolating towns and properties.

Mr Crisafulli confirmed close to 50,000 head of livestock had been lost in the recent northwest floods to date.

Fodder drops are continuing, with authorities stockpiling antibiotics and veterinary supplies to treat surviving stock and combat infection.