Sydney – The Meteorological Department has issued a serious warning of dangerous floods in Queensland, Australia. A tropical low storm system is moving towards the north-eastern coast of the state. The Bureau of Meteorology warned that a tropical low pressure system is likely to cause heavy rainfall along a 350km stretch of the coast north of Queensland from Friday morning.
The Bureau said that there is a possibility of locally intense rain, which can cause dangerous and deadly floods. The warning area includes the north-eastern coastal cities of Cairns, Port Douglas and Cooktown, which have a total population of about 255,000.
Australia’s Bureau of Meteorology said that according to the forecast, there is a possibility of up to 240 mm of rain in this area in six hours and up to 300 mm of rain in 24 hours. Earlier, weather experts had warned that this low pressure area could turn into a tropical cyclone with a 45 percent chance when it reaches the coast.
According to Xinhua news agency, till Friday morning it was considered to have only 5 percent probability. The storm will start near the town of Cardwell but the heaviest rain will fall further north near Cairns, Port Douglas and Cooktown. Earlier, on March 2, an emergency warning was issued for life-threatening flooding in the south-eastern states of Victoria and New South Wales.
What did the weather expert say?
The Bureau of Meteorology has issued a severe weather warning for heavy and locally intense rainfall in central and northern Victoria and the south and south-west. It said there was a possibility of up to 100 mm of rain in six hours in the warning area on Monday, which could affect an area of 650 km from the town of Simmers in central Victoria to Broken Hill.
Warnings and advisories issued
The state emergency services branches of Victoria and NSW advised people not to drive through flood water and to stay away from waterways. Flood watch updates issued by the Bureau of Meteorology for both the states on Sunday said that more than 20 water reservoirs are likely to be affected by the heavy rain event.
