The federal emergency management minister, Murray Watt, has mounted a full-throated defence of the Bureau of Meteorology’s forecasting and weather warning systems, amid criticism that flood alerts were too slow reaching residents in far north Queensland.
Residents of flooded beachside communities north of Cairns, including Holloways Beach and Machans Beach, have reported only receiving flood warnings at about 9am on Sunday despite access roads being cut from about 9pm Saturday.
