Residents in the outback Queensland town of Bedourie have begun preparations for a weeks-long isolation, as floodwaters from the far north-west move slowly south.
Graziers along the Georgina River, which winds its way along the border of Queensland and the Northern Territory, have been moving cattle to higher ground and building flood levees as the floodwaters move downstream.
Mayor of the Diamantina Shire Robbie Dare said the slow-moving water had given people plenty of time to prepare.
He said the floodwater would have spread out far enough by the time it had reached the region that it wouldn't encroach on the town as it did in places such as Urandangi.
"That same water will spread out three or four times wider than what it is now," Cr Dare said.
"I'm not really concerned about the height once it gets down here … we shouldn't have anywhere near the height those people got up there."
Cr Dare is confident the town's 2-metre-high flood levee will keep out any water, but flooding is expected to continue for up to a month once the peak hits the town in the coming weeks.
"It's going to be a long, drawn-out flood," he said.
"It's just going to put everything on hold for about four weeks."
Cr Dare said weekly fresh food deliveries by air from places such as Boulia and Mount Isa would ensure the town had supplies while it was cut off by road.
Peak above 2019 level expected
The water from the flooding in the north west has moved from Lake Nash, Camooweal and Urandangi and has impacted properties such as Roxborough Downs, north-west of Boulia.
The river at the station peaked on Sunday at 9.59m — the highest level on record since 1977, when it peaked at 9.93m.
The river was still rising at Linda Downs on Monday morning and was at 8.15m during the day.
Senior meteorologist with the Bureau of Meteorology Felim Hanniffy said river levels were nearing a peak before moving downstream to Marion Downs.
He said the expected peak at Marion Downs this weekend would be above the 6.35m peak seen in the March 2019 floods.
"River levels [at Marion Downs] actually dropped a little over the weekend so they're just below the moderate flood level at 3.82m," Mr Hanniffy said.
"But was beginning to rise again [on Monday afternoon] and will potentially go over the major level on Tuesday and peak over the weekend around the 6.5m mark."
He said it would take up to a week for the water to continue downstream to Bedourie, thanks to the open landscape of the Channel Country.
"A lot of the water is spread out over land and the flatness and topography in the area means it takes time to funnel into the main river systems," Mr Hanniffy said.
"Based on a peak at Marion Downs over the coming weekend, you'll be looking at about five to six days between peaks at Marion Downs and Bedourie.
"But it really depends on when we see that peak at Marion Downs."
Well prepared for floodwaters
Steve Drury is the general manager of primary production at the North Australian Pastoral Company (NAPCO), which has had flooding on seven of its properties in the Gulf and Channel Country.
He says the company has not lost any stock from its Gulf stations and has been busy moving animals to avoid losses as the flooding in the Georgina slowly moves south.
"One fortunate thing is, we've had a fair bit of notice to get some preparations done," Mr Drury said.
"They can't do any more than what they're doing now.
"The cattle have been shifted out and they're in a good place, so fingers crossed we come out of that the right way."
He says many graziers are using the floods of 1977 as a yardstick to measure how big this flood will be.
"The highest record was in 1974 and to get into the buildings there it's got to be 1.3m higher than that," Mr Drury said.
"It's got a bit to go yet but we're hoping it's not going to get any higher than the 1974 levels."
