Disaster money flows as Qld rivers rise

The northwest Queensland city of Mt Isa was deluged with 25mm of rain in a 10-minute
period on Friday as flooding in much of the state triggered disaster relief funding
arrangements.
The Bureau of Meteorology warned that severe thunderstorms are likely to produce
very heavy rainfall and flash flooding on Friday evening in the northwest of the
state around Mount Isa.
The city reported 25mm of rain between 5.20pm and 5.30pm (AEST).
Weeks of intermittent rain have inundated much of the central and southwest regions
of Queensland, prompting the state government to activate disaster relief funding on
Friday.
With commonwealth financial support, affected councils will be given money to deal
with disaster operations and damage to infrastructure.
Natural disaster relief and recovery arrangements are being made for the Barcaldine,
Barcoo, Blackall-Tambo, Bulloo, Longreach, Maranoa, Murweh, Paroo, Quilpie, Richmond
and Winton areas.
Heavy rain has been falling across the region for more than two weeks, and
helicopters began food and medicine drops to inundated stations on Friday.
Longreach and surrounds have had more than 260mm of rain since Christmas Day.
Local river systems are flooded, cutting roads and rail networks.
Emergency Services Minister Neil Roberts said the damage bill was yet to be determined.
"Councils will be able to access funding to cover the cost of restoring essential
public assets as well as the cost of counter-disaster operations," he said in a
statement.
Mr Roberts said the recovery arrangements did not currently extend to personal
hardship, however the situation would continue to be monitored.
Federal Attorney-General Robert McClelland said in a statement the commonwealth
government would provide financial support to the Queensland government to assist
with costs.
Main Roads Minister Craig Wallace urged motorists to use extreme caution driving in
Longreach and surrounding areas.
Travel restrictions and road closures have reduced access to Barcaldine, Barcoo,
Blackall/Tambo, Boulia, Diamantina, Longreach and Winton.
"Floodwaters can be fast-flowing and unpredictable, and I strongly caution road
users to avoid crossing inundated roads, causeways, bridges and pedestrian accesses
at all times and to put safety first," Mr Wallace said.
Flood warnings are current for the Flinders, Georgina, Landsborough, Thomson and
Barcoo Rivers and Cooper Creek, the Paroo River, the Bulloo River, Western and
Diamantina rivers.
The townships of Windorah and Jundah in southwest Queensland face the prospect of
major flooding over the weekend.