Floodwaters still threaten parts of Australia's east coast as tropical
storm cleanup begins
[March 10, 2025]
By CHARLOTTE GRAHAM-McLAY
WELLINGTON, New Zealand (AP) — Australia's prime minister cautioned that
the fallout from a vicious tropical storm over the weekend was “far from
over” as parts of two states remained inundated with perilous
floodwaters on Monday, even as the initial threat from the deluge
continued to recede.
One person was killed and several others injured after heavy rain lashed
Australia's east coast on Saturday, toppling trees and power lines and
inundating some parts of Queensland and New South Wales with record
downpours. The two states escaped the level of chaos forecast from the
tropical low weather system, which was earlier expected to make landfall
as the first tropical cyclone to hit south east Queensland in 51 years —
before weakening as it approached.
Still, 200,000 homes and businesses were without power in the region on
Monday afternoon — after the storm prompted the biggest blackout in
Queensland's history — and more than 700 schools were closed for the
day.
Those living near rivers and creeks were urged to evacuate or stay
indoors as water levels continued to rise in some areas — with more rain
forecast triggering further warnings during the day. Disaster was
declared for the city of Ipswich, west of Brisbane, where a river was
expected to flood overnight. People in surrounding suburbs were ordered
to leave their homes.
Meanwhile, in other towns where floodwaters began to recede a cleanup
began as power was restored for tens of thousands of people. The scale
of the damage was not immediately clear.
Workers whose livelihoods were hampered by the storm will be eligible
for welfare payments for up to 13 weeks beginning Tuesday, Prime
Minister Anthony Albanese told reporters on Monday.
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Resident Bruce Maddox walks back through flood waters to his home in
the Brisbane suburb of Oxley, Australia, Monday, March 10, 2025. (Jono
Searle/AAP Image via AP)
In the city of Lismore in New South Wales, two military trucks
helping with the rescue efforts on Saturday rolled over, injuring 13
of the 36 personnel travelling in them. One remained in hospital on
Monday with injuries that were not life-threatening, Australia's
Defense Minister Richard Marles said.
The single casualty of the crisis was a 61-year-old man who
disappeared in a flooded river near the New South Wales town of
Dorrigo, police said. His body was recovered on Saturday.
Albanese warned residents of the two stricken states not to be
“complacent” as flood warnings lingered.
“If it's flooded, forget it,” he said, referring to traveling in or
entering inundated areas.
Cyclones are common in Queensland’s tropical north but are rare in
the state’s temperate and densely populated southeast corner that
borders New South Wales. Tropical Cyclone Alfred was last week
expected to become the first cyclone since 1974 to cross the
Australian coast near Queensland's state capital of Brisbane,
Australia’s third-most populous city.
But it weakened Saturday to a tropical low, defined as carrying
sustained winds of less than 63 kph (39 mph).
Authorities had feared similar scenes to those eastern Australia
experienced during massive floods in 2011 and in a series of 2022
events — in which more than 20 people died.
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