New flood-warning assets installed ahead of wet summer
Date published: 16 November 2022
Twenty-three new flood-warning assets have been installed across the Townsville region to monitor water levels, rainfall and river heights to assist emergency services and the community during a flooding event.
The assets are part of the Flood Warning Infrastructure Network program that was rolled out across 28 Councils.
Townsville Mayor and Chair of the Local Disaster Management Group Jenny Hill said the infrastructure would provide higher-quality real-time data to help groups on the ground make better-informed decisions during an emergency.
“These assets include cameras, rain gauges and river height sensor indicators,” Cr Hill said.
“Townsville City Council acted as the project manager for the program in northern Queensland and worked closely with nearby local governments to identify and strategically place the assets across the Townsville, Hinchinbrook, Charters Towers, Mackay and Whitsundays regions.
“This infrastructure will enable the Bureau of Meteorology and emergency services to access more information from different local government areas to predict flooding events better and continue distributing accurate and timely information.
“It’s predicted Australia will experience another La Nina event, so having these assets installed and operational will give us the best chance of properly preparing and responding to any flooding. This technology will help North Queenslanders, as we don’t want to be caught out by flooding the way other local government areas have been across the country.”
Through the program, the Queensland Reconstruction Authority (QRA) has worked with Councils across the state to deliver $8 million worth of projects.
Local Disaster Management Group deputy chairperson Kurt Rehbein said the new infrastructure included three live-feed cameras.
“We have positioned three live-feed cameras along Allambie Lane at the Bohle River crossing, the Bruce Highway at Stony Creek and ‘The Dip’ along Saunders Beach Road,” Cr Rehbein said.
“All are viewable on Council’s Disaster Dashboard and can be used by residents to get current updated images of how weather conditions affect those three locations.
“Residents and emergency services can go online to gauge the road conditions and whether those areas are accessible.”
The Flood Warning Infrastructure Network program was jointly funded through the Australian and Queensland Governments’ Disaster Recovery Funding Arrangements.
For more information on the program, go to the QRA website.
