Flooding in Australia has inflicted “incredible” devastation on communities across northern Queensland, the state’s premier has said, even though conditions are easing faster than predicted.
Thousands of residents who evacuated from their homes are set to return on Tuesday but it is feared hundreds of homes and businesses have been inundated.
“It’s a disaster that’s going to test the resolve of people,” Premier David Crisafulli told the ABC.
Parts of the region have been battered by nearly 2m (6.5 ft) of rain since Saturday, prompting ongoing flood warnings and blackouts, but the premier said weather conditions had been “really kind” in recent hours.
In Townsville, locals woke to grey skies but only drizzle, and the news that predicted flooding levels did not materialise. It was a stark contrast to the intense downpours which have battered the region over the past few days.
The easing conditions mean people who had been advised to leave six Townsville suburbs may have “dodged a bullet”, the premier said, after earlier forecasts had suggested up to 1,700 homes were in danger.
But further north in the state, poor communications and damaged roads are making it hard to assess the extent of the damage in the towns of Ingham and Cardwell.
“The more information that comes through, the more it appears there is real devastation”, said Mr Crisafulli who grew up in Ingham.
“I’ve seen images of water in businesses that never in my wildest dreams thought I’d see water in shops there in the high part of town,” he said.
More than 8,000 properties remain without power, according to the state’s energy provider, and the partial collapse of a critical highway continues to hinder efforts to assist some of the hardest-hit areas.
Crisafulli said that the recovery effort would “take some time”.
