Ergon Energy crews are facing escalating flood waters in Cairns and Far North Queensland due to heavy rainfall as they work to restore power to communities following Ex-Tropical Cyclone Jasper.
Related article: Cyclone Jasper leaves 40,000 without power in Queensland
“A serious flooding situation is currently unfolding across far north Queensland due to heavy rainfall,” an Ergon spokesperson explained.
“Major flood warnings are now current for a number of north tropical coast catchments and significant rises are occurring in numerous rivers and creeks across the Cape. Some areas in far north Queensland received more than 300mm of rain over the past 24 hours. Gordonvale just south of Cairns received more than 400mm.
“Conditions are changing quickly and are very dangerous. Multiple roads are closed due to flooding and damage (images attached), and the advice from authorities is for people to avoid the roads wherever possible.
“To ensure the safety of our crews in these dangerous conditions, Ergon Energy crews in Mareeba, Atherton and Cairns are only responding to life-threatening emergencies where it’s safe for them to do so.”
Ex-Tropical Cyclone Jasper left approximately 40,000 customers without power. While approximately 90% of these customers had power restored by 9pm on Saturday, 16 December, with a flood emergency currently in place, the number of power outages associated with this secondary event is continuing to grow.
Related article: Can burying powerlines protect storm-wracked electric grids? Not always…
Ergon Energy’s Outage Finder is a useful tool for information on outages and the text view will sort outages by council area, while general updates can be found on Ergon’s Tropical Cyclone Jasper page.
