City getting back into stride
WHILE IT IS A RELIEF FOR TOWNSVILLE, MY HEART GOES OUT TO THE COMMUNITIES DOWN SOUTH, PARTICULARLY AROUND THE WHITSUNDAYS AND MACKAY MAYOR JENNY HILL
TOWNSVILLE will start getting back to business today, after escaping the wrath of Cyclone Debbie.
The category 4 cyclone, initially forecast to bring destructive winds to Townsville, barely affected the city, instead slamming Bowen, Airlie Beach and Mackay.
Streets were quiet yesterday as residents prepared for damaging winds, but an overcast day with slight winds were the only sign of the turmoil to the south.
Students will head back to schools across Townsville today while health services and transport will begin returning to normal.
Mayor Jenny Hill said Townsville was ready to help other parts of North Queensland.
“That involves getting the community back to normal because I have no doubt services will be needed to support recovery from Bowen and Proserpine,” she said.
“What will happen now is emergency services and local government will need to do a damage assessment, they’ll feed that up to requests for assistance.”
Cr Hill said while it was a relief for Townsville, her heart went out to the communities down south, particularly around the Whitsundays and Mackay.
“Because of the change in path it was originally going to Townsville and Ayr and in the last 24 hours was going to Bowen,” she said.
“That meant they were limited in terms of being able to conduct evacuations and manage but they did an excellent job.”
A meeting will be held about 6am today to decide if the Port of Townsville will reopen.
SeaLink ferry services to Magnetic Island will not be able to operate until the port reopens but the terminal and vessels have been prepared to recommence operations as early as 6.30am today, dependent on weather.
Commercial flights will resume from the Townsville Airport from 4.30am, with flight schedules at the discretion of airlines.
A spokeswoman for the Department of Education and Training said while schools in Townsville would reopen today, schools in coastal and immediate inland areas from Giru in the north to St Lawrence in the south and inland to Charters Towers would remain closed “until we are sure the situation is safe”.
“Safety must be the top priority in this event and the department has contacted state schools in affected areas,” she said.
“The department is also ensuring that state school grounds and buildings are secure.”
Townsville Hospital and Health Service will also return to business as usual from today.
Townsville Hospital and Health Service health incident controller and chief operating officer Kieran Keyes said North Queenslanders with outpatient appointments or elective surgery scheduled for today and the rest of the week should attend as arranged.
“People who were unable to attend, or had their appointments deferred, because of Tropical Cyclone Debbie will be contacted by the health service to have their appointment rebooked,” he said.
“If you have not been contacted by close of business on April 7 please call the relevant specialist clinic area.”
Retailers remained closed throughout yesterday but Castletown, Stockland and Willows shopping centres have all confirmed they will have normal opening hours today.
A Stockland spokesman said their local centre management team would complete a final check of the centre as per their cyclone management plan.
“Our thoughts are with our coastal neighbours and we hope they will remain safe,” he said.
The Central Queensland University campus in Flinders St will reopen today, while James Cook University will reopen its Douglas and Townsville City campuses.