Residents in Australia’s northeast are assessing the damage caused by former Tropical Cyclone Jasper as authorities work to rescue those stranded in remote towns due to dangerous river levels.
Jasper hit last week as a category 2 storm in the far north of Queensland, then weakened to a tropical low, dumping heavy rain over four days, cutting off entire towns and flooding homes, roads, and farms.
Military personnel have joined the state’s emergency crews in evacuation and relief efforts, with a continued search for an 85-year-old man missing in the flood waters.
Flights from Cairns Airport, the gateway to the Great Barrier Reef, will resume on Tuesday, officials said.
Federal Emergency Management Minister Murray Watt stated, “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.”
Watt also warned of extensive property damage, anticipating a significant repair bill.
The Insurance Council of Australia cautioned that the flooding could be categorized as an insurance catastrophe if there was a surge in claims, though the full impact is still to be determined.
Television footage showed residents wading through homes strewn with debris and sludge after water levels receded in some towns during a pause in rains.
Most of the 300 residents from the flooded remote town of Wujal Wujal are expected to be evacuated soon, with reports of some residents wading through crocodile-infested waters to reach higher ground.
In Ingham, a 9-foot-long crocodile was captured in a storm drain, and sightings of crocodiles in north Queensland are more common in rural areas and waterways.
(Reporting by Renju Jose in Sydney; Editing by Bill Berkrot)
