Queensland Premier Alerts Public to Emerging Weather Threat Following Ex-Cyclone

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The tropical low made landfall in Ayr, south of Townsville, yesterday with large parts of the northern coast lashed by wind and rain.

Wind speeds of 113km/h were recorded at Hamilton Island, while Mackay received around 250mm of rain in less than 24 hours.

A severe weather warning is in place for the Whitsundays region. (Bureau of Meteorology)

A severe weather warning is still in place for the Central Coast and Whitsundays region between Gladstone and Mackay, with several major flood warnings also being issued by the Bureau of Meteorology (BOM) in smaller parts of Queensland.

Rockhampton is being told to expect up to 130mm of rain today, with Rolleston further inland potentially copping up to 200mm of rain.

Crisafulli expressed pride in the state’s response to the aftermath of the ex-cyclone, while emphasizing that the threat is not yet behind them.

The weather threat in Queensland still remains after ex-cyclone Koji. (Nine)

“Our message remains that there is a risk of heavy rainfall, and that’s something we have consistently warned about,” Crisafulli stated on Today.

“There’s a real possibility of intense downpours, which could result in flooding, especially since the catchments are already quite saturated,” he explained.

He noted that, fortunately, there have been no fatalities from the recent storms. However, it is estimated that approximately 40,000 livestock and cattle have succumbed to the harsh weather conditions.

Crisafulli praised the efforts of communities, councils and emergency services and the federal government for helping limit the impact of the severe weather.

Queensland Premier David Crisafulli urged residents in impacted regions to remain vigilant as more heavy rains are expected in the next two days. (Nine)

“Initially, we had around 23,000 homes and businesses without electricity, but that number has now been reduced to 2,500,” he added.

“That doesn’t happen by magic, that happens because people work through the night and resources are on the ground.”

He urged Queenslanders to remain vigilant over the next couple of days: “Queenslanders know how to handle heavy rain, we are a very disaster-resilient state, we’ll just continue to put out that messaging that there is that risk in the next 24-48 hours of some really significant rainfall in patches.

“If people do the right thing and make their preparations, we will get through this unscathed.”