Weather News

Rockhampton flood: A historical comparison

Ben Domensino, Wednesday April 5, 2017 - 15:28 AEST

Rockhampton is bracing for a major flood peak of nine metres tomorrow morning. So, how does this event compare to past floods in Rockhampton and what effect will it have on the town?

Firstly, let's take a look at the town and river involved. Rockhampton is a large regional town in central Queensland that straddles the banks of the Fitzroy River. The catchment area that drains into the Fitzroy River is more than 140,000 square kilometres in size, making it the largest river system draining to Australia's east coast, according to the Fitzroy Basin Authority.

Last week, Tropical Cyclone Debbie spent two days delivering heavy rain into the Fitzroy River Basin. A rain gauge at Blackdown Tableland, near Rolleston, received 307mm in 24 hours, which was their heaviest rain in at least eight years. This part of Queensland usually sees around 600-700mm of rain in an entire year.

Water from Cyclone Debbie is now moving down the Fitzroy River and is expected to peak at nine metres in Rockhampton tomorrow morning. This is half a metre higher than the major flood level and would be the highest since 2011.

A peak of nine metres would put tomorrow's flooding above the 1988 (8.4m) and 2013 (8.6m) events and below the 2011 (9.2m), 1991 (9.3m) and record 1918 (10.11m) floods.

A flood peak of nine metres is high enough to inundate low-lying streets in suburbs including Berserker, Park Avenue, Koongal, Kawana, Allenstown. Temporary levees have been installed in some of the town's streets, which should help to save some properties from the swollen river.

Some parts of the town were already underwater today as the river reached 8.45 metres by 1pm AEST.

The rise of the Fitzroy River has been gradual and so will its recession. If you are being impacted by flooding in Queensland, consult the latest flood warnings at http://www.weatherzone.com.au/warnings.jsp for information on river heights and contact the State Emergency Service on 132 500 if you require emergency assistance.

- Weatherzone

© Weatherzone 2017

Enter a postcode or town name for local weather, or text to search the site. » advanced search

Weather News

» all stories

Winter is Coming: Chilly day for Sydney, rain pelts eastern seaboard

17:22 AEST Just as we forecast yesterday, a coastal trough has deepened along the NSW and southeast Qld coasts as a low in the Coral Sea continues to inch closer to Qld. The trough has brought some interesting weather to NSW in the past 36 hours or so, particularly along the coastal fringe, giving those New South Welshmen a “Stark” Game of Thrones reminder: winter is coming.