Holiday travellers have been warned to think again before hitting the road in northern Australia with the weather forecast anything but festive.
Most of north Queensland was saturated with up to 100 millimetres of rain on Dec. 20 as storms battered the tropical coast.
Some areas like the Mattie O'Neill Bridge near Mackay copped the brunt of the deluge, topping 276 millimetres in 24 hours.
The torrential rain is the result of a tropical low pressure system moving across the Cape York Peninsula, bringing severe weather conditions between Cairns and Mackay.
The Bureau of Meteorology has played down the chances of the low developing into the season’s first cyclone.
However, it is still causing plenty of headaches, with the Whitsunday region near Mackay saturated and localised flooding occurring on rural properties.
There are also multiple warnings in place for swollen rivers.
Whitsunday Mayor Ry Collins said rainfall was “slightly higher” for December.
“But I wouldn’t call it an extraordinary weather event at this stage,” he told AAP.
However the wet had caused concern for holiday makers, with festive travellers failing to heed warnings and driving through floodwaters.
Collins said the state’s major arterial the Bruce Highway is closed in both directions at Goorganga Plains and further north at the Burdekin.
“Even though we’ve got lots of islands, we’re an island in ourselves today,” he said.
Drivers heading away for the holidays are being told to rethink travel plans or expect delays as a result of road closures.
Collins said some motorists who chose to drive through floodwaters were washed off the Bruce Highway in the Whitsunday region on Dec. 20 with emergency services deployed to rescue them.
“I know everyone’s got somewhere they could be this time of year and want to catch up with family but it’s not worth the risk to lives,” he said.
The bureau has issued a severe weather warning for heavy rainfall between Ingham and Mackay, with totals up to 220 millimetres until Dec. 21 morning.
Parts of the Herbert and Lower Burdekin may be the worst hit with up to 250 millimetres in six hours predicted.
“Now that’s a lot of rain to come down in a short space of time,” the bureau’s Miriam Bradbury said.
She warned there was a heightened risk of flooding in those areas, with river levels already rising and closing roads.
The low pressure system on Dec. 20 was set to linger between Cairns and Townsville before it moved across the coast on Dec. 21 morning.
Premier David Crisafulli said there had not been major damage following a wet week that began in the southeast before drenching the north.
But with storms set to batter the tropical coast, he assured the public that emergency services were ready.
“Whatever it is that Mother Nature throws at Queenslanders, we will respond,” he told reporters.
