In early February 2019, the Townsville region experienced its largest rainfall event in 120 years. Rainfall and floodwaters reached unprecedented levels, catching even long-term residents off guard. It was described as a 1-in-100 year event.
Now, just six years later, the region has received almost a metre of rain over one weekend, leading to flash flooding and mass evacuations.
The climate crisis is quite literally on our doorstep.
Last year, NQCC held Story Circles, to help us gain a better understanding of the direct and indirect impacts of extreme weather here in North Queensland.
The stories shared with Luna, our Community Campaigner, shone a light on the lived experience through heatwaves, cyclones and floods, and revealed shared concerns about the future of life in the tropics. The 2019 floods featured heavily in the stories we heard.
We heard from Tim, who described the ordeal of the cleanup, and his surprise at the scale of the floods, after having just moved to North Queensland.
We heard from Jo, who spoke about the multiple unprecedented weather events experienced in the region over the past few years.
We heard from Linda, who withdrew from her superannuation and returned to the workforce to fund the raising of her house after it was hit by the floods, knowing that if it happened once, it could happen again.
We heard from others whose insurance premiums had skyrocketed, and some who had made the difficult decision to not insure their home or belongings due to the expense.
We also heard from Jenny, whose daughter contracted a life-threatening virus from exposure to contaminated floodwaters, and the trauma endured by her whole family as their loved one fought for her life.
For the same community to be struck by such freakish weather events twice within a decade seems statistically improbable, but perhaps not in a warming climate.
According to Professor Steve Turton,
"More extreme rainfall and higher frequencies of flooded rivers and flash floods around the world have a clear link to climate change and ongoing global heating. The main drivers behind these events include warming of the atmosphere. For every 1°C of warming, the atmosphere holds 7% more water vapour. Recent research suggests this figure could be even higher for short duration rainfall."
Of course, it's not just heavy downpours impacting communities in North Queensland. Only a year ago, Townsville residents were hit by the slow-moving category 1 Tropical Cyclone Kirrily. While Kirrily brought unusually little rain across the coast, her destructive winds brought down trees and powerlines, damaging roofs and leaving 66,000 households and businesses without power for up to six days, during a heatwave.
North Queenslanders have a reputation for resilience. We like to believe we're capable of wrestling crocodiles and walking barefoot across burning bitumen. We're known for embracing floodwaters by casting a line or setting off down the street in a kayak. But when it comes to the real impacts of natural disasters, things are heating up quickly, and we're not as prepared as we think we are.
Each year that we don't bring our emissions down, we're a step closer to locking future generations into an uninsurable, unliveable future in the tropics.
When it comes to what the Australian Government and the Queensland Governments can do, the science is clear. Keep our coal in the ground. Invest in renewables and batteries. Protect and restore our carbon sinks, mangroves, wetlands and riparian zones. Help frontline communities adapt to increasing hazards.
That's climate action. We shouldn't have to fight for it, but we do and we will.
References
"2019 Weather Event", Townsville City Council
https://www.townsville.qld.gov.au/community-support/community-safety/disaster-management/2019-weather-event
"Living with Climate Change in North Queensland", NQCC, 2024
https://prezi.com/view/IIcPOx5O3JkQrOAnORXB/
"Woman dies in north Queensland floodwaters as 1,700 homes expected to flood in Townsville 'black zone'", Owen Jacques and Hannah Walsh, ABC News, 2 Feb 2025
https://www.abc.net.au/news/2025-02-02/north-queensland-townsville-flooding-rainfall/104886534
"What's driving North Queensland's deadly, record-breaking floods?" Professor Steve Turton, The Conversation, 2 Feb 2025
https://theconversation.com/whats-driving-north-queenslands-deadly-record-breaking-floods-248847
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