the Cape York Peninsula. About 30 businesses were reportedly damaged by flooding in Maryborough and according to Michael Sawrey, the Superintendent at Queensland Police Service, assessments are under way to determine the extent of the damage. He also revealed that the missing 14 year-old-girl has not yet been found. “We have grave concerns for her but we’re putting whatever efforts we can to try and find the young girl,” he said.
Meanwhile, the Mayor of Fraser Coast, George Seymour, noted that fewer businesses were inundated since the flood peaked at below the anticipated level of 10.5 metres. The floodwater is receding and in the days and weeks to come we will be working on the clean-up and recovery,” he said.
According to Renee Smith, a spokeswoman for the Royal Automobile Club of Queensland (RACQ), the insurer had received 73 home and motor claims related to the floods since Friday, of which 60 were from the Wide Bay area and one from Maryborough. “We have property assessors on standby to attend affected homes in the region and builders have already started on make safe repairs,” she added.
Commenting on the situation, Queensland Premier Annastacia Palaszczuk noted that it will be a tough few weeks of cleaning up, adding that residents of the area will be eligible to receive disaster relief payments from the Commonwealth.
According to the Bureau of Meteorology, tropical cyclone Tiffany, which made a landfall about 90km south-east of Coen on Monday afternoon, is expected to weaken slightly as it moves over land to the west “These tropical systems intensify quickly and can shift direction very quickly as they develop, so the Bureau will be updating our warnings and advice to the community and our emergency services colleagues across Queensland and Northern Territory,” Dean Narramore, a senior meteorologist, said.
