Queenslanders are being urged to stock up on 72 hours of supplies as a “severe” cyclone begins to swing towards the state’s coast.
A cyclone watch has been issued for communities across north Queensland, with the Bureau of Meteorology forecasting that tropical Cyclone Kirrily will make landfall near Townsville as a category three storm on Thursday.
In a Monday afternoon press conference, bureau response manager Lauren Boekel warned that parts of the coast could feel the first effects within 48 hours.
“Gales with damaging wind gusts of up to 120km an hour may develop about coastal and island communities between Ayr and St. Lawrence, and that’s from as early as Wednesday morning,” she said.
“Heavy rainfall, which may lead to flash flooding, is also a very likely possibility with this system.”
The system was expected to swing south as a low later in the week, creating a flood risk for much of the state, including in the south-east.
Queensland state disaster coordinator deputy commissioner Shane Chelepy said emergency authorities would make a decision about whether to release water from dams in affected areas.
He said it was time for people to plan how to wait out the storm.
“Go to our Get Ready Queensland website and take some basic preparations, such as ensuring you have sufficient food in your house, long-life food, for 72 hours post Thursday,” Chelepy said.
“Keep your car topped up with petrol. Make sure you have a power pack for your phone as when we see events like this that do cross the coast it’s up to 72 hours, sometimes, before emergency services can get out and assist you.”
There was still some uncertainty about the exact route of the storm. The bureau will update a track forecast for the storm every six hours until it hits the coast, and then every three hours.
The state is facing its third natural disaster and second cyclone in a month. Ex-tropical Cyclone Jasper caused more than a billion dollars of damage when floods hit north of Cairns in December.
The premier, Steven Miles, will convene a Queensland disaster management committee meeting on Tuesday as preparations continue.
“Our biggest concern, really, is the fatigue that our volunteers and our emergency services have been experiencing after those two big events,” he said.
On Saturday, residents celebrated the reopening of the Captain Cook Highway from Cairns to Port Douglas. The road had been closed after Jasper struck a month ago. Port Douglas was forced to turn its water supply off on Sunday due to a suspected leak.
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The current low is expected to become tropical cyclone by Tuesday morning at the latest. Coastal residents can expect to see heavy rainfall and flash flooding by Wednesday.
Queensland to experience record power demand
Meanwhile, Queensland’s energy minister asked residents to act responsibly by avoiding unnecessary use of appliances during a statewide heatwave.
The state was expected to hit a new record for peak power demand on Monday – the first day of the school year in Queensland.
The energy minister, Mick de Brenni, said authorities were confident there would be enough power to keep the lights on and air conditioning running, but warned the system would be pushed hard.
The grid was likely to hit peak use between 5.30pm and 7pm, and “significantly” exceed the previous record of 10,070 megawatts set in March 2023, de Brenni said.
He said the state-owned energy system was managing the situation carefully, and so far there was no reason not to use air conditioning.
“As the premier has indicated … we can assure Queenslanders that there remains adequate supply of power,” he said.
“So that means that they’re able to continue to use their air conditioners tonight and other appliance as needs be. Of course it will be very, very tight.
“For the time being, Queenslanders can rest assured that the lights will stay on [and] that we will have adequate supply to meet that demand.”
There was a heatwave warning active across most of Queensland, with the far west and parts of the north of the state under a severe heatwave warning.
Birdsville was expected to hit 44C on Monday and not fall below 33C overnight. Brisbane was forecast to hit 35C, with 55% humidity on Monday.
With reporting by Australian Associated Press
