Australia Weather News

As north Queenslanders deal with a second flood in as many months, frustrations are growing after the Bruce Highway was again closed this morning cutting off Far North residents.

The Bruce Highway was closed this morning north of Ingham, with truck drivers facing lengthy wait to get supplies.

The highway closure is the third time north Queensland region has been cut off due to flooding since February.

Bruce Highway back in focus

Queensland Trucking Association chief executive Gary Mahon said the condition of the Bruce Highway in the north of the state was not good enough.

"It's unacceptable in today's day and age that Far North Queensland has to live with being fully cut off more than twice a year," he said.

There have been calls to expedite road upgrades in north Queensland as the state and federal governments begin a $9 billion program of works to upgrade the Bruce Highway, announcing $300 million in early works yesterday for 16 projects between Gympie and Innisfail.

In recent flooding, the crucial Ollera Creek Bridge north of Townsville was destroyed, delaying crucial deliveries to flood-affected communities like Ingham.

The Bureau of Meteorology said the city recorded its heaviest 24-hour rain in March since the 1990s, with 301 millimetres to 9am yesterday.

Concern over warnings

The amount of rain caught West End resident Ruth Knight by surprise. She said floodwater came into her home yesterday morning.

"You just wake up to water everywhere," Ms Knight said.

"Nothing here. No warnings to us."

More rain than expected

The City of Townsville confirmed that no text messages had been sent to those at risk of flooding, but said messages were put on its website and Facebook page warning of the severe weather ahead.

Townsville Disaster Management Group chairman Andrew Robinson defended the city's response.

"The rain has been a little bit higher than we anticipated, but not unusual. It is a one-in-20-year sort of event," he said.

"This is north Queensland weather. People are fairly resilient up here. This is something we all experience from time to time. It is unfortunate.

"There are always learnings and we are learning from every single disaster that we have, and hopefully that will give us better data in the future."

Mr Robinson said if someone had received damage to their vehicle or household goods they should contact their insurance company for a claim.

State Transport Minister Brent Mickelberg acknowledged it was not possible to make the Bruce Highway flood-proof.

"It's built on a flood plain, but we can certainly reduce the impact and incidents and the severity of the flooding that occurs in places like Ingham," he said.

"We need to be building resilience wherever possible and we're committed to working with the federal government to deliver just that."

The latest floods come as roads in north Queensland are still closed from the February floods, including the Mount Spec Road, which is the main route to the holiday town of Paluma.

Mr Mickelberg acknowledged it would take time to reopen all the roads.

"The damage is very considerable but we're committed to ensuring we address the immediate concerns of reopening the road to locals … so we don't repeat the same mistakes," he said.