“Today, we will really see the beginning of the recovery effort across much of Far North Queensland. So, there’ll be a big focus on recovery work,” Federal Emergency Management Minister Murray Watt told the Australian Broadcasting Corp.
“We’re going to see a very large amount of property damage … So, I think we’re up for a pretty expensive repair bill,” Watt said.
The Insurance Council of Australia said the flooding could be escalated to an insurance catastrophe if there was a spike in claims, though it was too early to determine the full impact.
Television footage showed residents walking through homes strewn with debris and sludge after water levels receded in some towns during a pause in rains.
Authorities said most of the 300 residents from the flooded remote Indigenous town of Wujal Wujal will be evacuated soon. Some residents there had to wade through crocodile-infested waters to get to higher ground, according to media reports.
A 2.8m-long crocodile was captured on Monday in a storm drain in Ingham, a town of about 5,000. Crocodile sightings in north Queensland are more common in rivers, lagoons and swamps in rural areas.
Source: CNA
