Properties to the north of Croydon have borne the brunt of decaying Tropical Cyclone Nora after it made landfall as a category 3 storm early on Sunday morning.
It crossed the coast near Pormpuraaw on Cape York Peninsula, where about 230 homes and businesses were waiting for heavy rains and high winds to drop so that power could be restored.
Falls in excess of 300mm and home inundations were reported in the Croydon region on Monday as the low pressure system remained almost stationary.
By Monday afternoon Croydon’s town water supply, Lake Belmore had gone from less than 40 per cent full to less than a metre before it began bywashing.
Croydon Shire Council mayor, Trevor Pickering, describing himself as “a very happy mayor”, said he would be ready to celebrate with a beer when that happened, expected on Monday night.
Others in the town might have been using the empty cartons the celebration ale came in to scoop up the barramundi going with the flow across the spillway.
From 9am Sunday to 1pm Monday the town had received 257.2mm.
According to Bureau of Meteorology duty forecaster, James Pescott, Miranda Downs to the north of Croydon had recorded 371mm in 24 hours.
At Tabletop Station, Jane Kidd was making the most of floodwaters entering the verandah, office, lounge, laundry and main bedroom of her home.
In a glass half full moment she commented on the Who Got the Rain Facebook page, “the rest of bedrooms and kitchen/dining room are out of water”.
By early Monday afternoon she’d had 300mm and was still experiencing intermittent heavy rain and windy conditions.
“We were hoping to get good rain but we wouldn’t have predicted anything like this,” she said.
Because their homestead is at the top of a creek system that runs into the Norman River, Jane said the water was getting away reasonably quickly.
“It’s in an out within 10 hours,” she said. “It’s not sitting there for days and it’s not too brown.
“Everybody’s been happy with the rain, just a bit shocked.”
Thanks to range country, Jane was expecting their cattle herd would have headed for the hills as floodwaters began rising.
It’s the third time they’ve experienced similar flooding in the 18 years of living at Tabletop – 2009 and 2011 saw water swirling through their Besser brick home as well.
Cr Pickering said there had not been anywhere near the same amount of rain down the Richmond Road.
Forsayth grazier and Gulf Cattlemen’s Association president, Barry Hughes, said he’d probably been 100km south east of the big rain.
Since Sunday night he’d recorded 75mm and he said the country south west of North Head, towards Richmond, had missed a lot of the big falls, both this time and earlier in March.
“We’ve not had any run-off rain, it’s all grass-growing rain now,” he said. “It’s towards the end of the season so to finish on such a positive note is remarkable.”
He said there was still a lot of pressure on the cattle industry and June 30 would be the next key date for people.
“This rain will slow works progress down in the north,” he said. “And it’s going to take a while for cattle to get solid enough to sell.”
The BOM’s James Pescott said the weather system was expected to get more mobile and head west toward the NT border on Tuesday.
Sally Gall
Based at Blackall, CW Qld, where I've raised a family, run Merino sheep and beef cattle, and helped develop a region - its history, tourism, education and communications. Get in touch at 0427 575 955 if you've got a story idea for me.
Based at Blackall, CW Qld, where I've raised a family, run Merino sheep and beef cattle, and helped develop a region - its history, tourism, education and communications. Get in touch at 0427 575 955 if you've got a story idea for me.
