A week on from ex-Tropical Cyclone Kirrily, the city of Townsville in North Queensland is getting back on track with flood waters receding, and power being restored
Last week the storm made landfall leaving nearly 50,000 people without power over the following days.
Luckily minimal damage was recorded.
Gooreng Gooreng South Sea and Bindal man Eli Blackman from Townsville’s 4K1G FM says things are getting back to normal a week after the storm.
“So everyone’s kind of back in work mode back to real life.
The only difference is this the debris on the road like I have tree branches on the way home that I drive past so yeah, I think it just relies on now the emergency services to come clean up which they can because Townsville is a big city.
So yeah, I think patience is the main thing we should really preach because a lot of people have short patience”.
This week a man has been charged with allegedly assaulting a council contractor during storm clean-up in Townsville.
It follows reports from Ergon energy saying their crews and 24/7 phone teams have received abuse as they try and restore power to the region.
Mr Blackman says tensions were high in the days following the cyclone, as residents battled intense heat and power outages
Townsville is known for like it’s heat far North Queensland in general is a very hot place very dry heat and the humidity was so high so I think that really was a factor as to why they were more angry and on social media Like “Ergon please get to our place” like almost trying to get Ergon to prioritise that area first.
And so Townsville city council was very nice like they’d be like can you give Ergon some space to chill and do the best they can.
But ya know, the the weather and the climate really, added to that aggression that the residents in Townsville have.”
Following last week storms there are growing concerns that a low pressure system off the Queensland Coast may develop into another Cyclone.
Eli says if another Cyclone hits the city residents will be ready.
“It’s been pretty unpredictable.
But that’s what that’s what you can expect here in Townsville, like December, January, February, like the season is the season of unpredictability in the weather like cyclones come anytime and they form any time.
I think we’re always alert but there’s also chill laid back, like, kind of vibe up here that it’s like, you know what, if it comes, we’ll deal with it, and then we’ll get back and be on the right track again.”
Image: Supplied by Queensland Police Service
