Risk rises of floods, tropical cyclones

THE Bureau of Meteorology has warned of an increased risk of widespread flooding and tropical cyclones in Queensland.

La Nina is likely to bring more rain to eastern and northern Australia and could lead to an earlier than normal arrival for the first rains of this year’s northern wet season.

Bureau climatologist Greg Browning said while recent decades had seen a decline in the number of cyclones, this summer was likely to buck the trend.

“On average Australia sees nine to 11 tropical cyclones each year, with four crossing the coast. With La Nina this year we are expecting to see slightly more tropical cyclones than average, and the first one may arrive earlier than normal,” he said.

“E v e r y northern wet season has had at least one tropical cyclone cross the A u s t r a l i a n coast, so we can never be complacent. We know that cyclones can develop at any time throughout the tropical cyclone season, which runs from November to April.

“This means that communities right across northern Australia need to be prepared now, and stay informed from the very start of the tropical cyclone season in October, right through until April.”

Climate scientist Dr Andrew Magee from the Centre of Water, Climate and Land at the University of Newcastle, who helped develop a new cyclone outlook, told the Townsville Bulletin there was a 55 per cent chance of more than four cyclones developing off the east coast of Australia this season. He explained that was slightly above the season average and not all of them would make landfall.

North Queensland has been struck by a multitude of severe cyclones since the turn of the century, including Cyclone Larry in 2006, and then Cyclone Yasi which crossed the coast near Mission Beach in 2011, causing widespread destruction. Cyclone Debbie ( pictured) hit in 2017.