Ex-Tropical Cyclone Owen packs surprise punch
WEATHER EVENT
UPDATE: 4:56pm
Ergon says more than 3000 customers remain without power in the far north as there has been significant damage to the network around Mossman.
Our crews will work into the night to continue restoring power where it’s safe to do so.
Additional crews will be travelling to Mossman from Mareeba and Atherton tomorrow morning to assist.
The Bureau of Meteorology has advised that damaging winds which were previously forecast for Port Douglas to Ingham are no longer likely as ex-tropical cyclone Owen moves to the west across Cape York Peninsula.
The BOM said the system should continue to move westwards towards the Gulf of Carpentaria during the remainder of today.
Bands of thunderstorms producing heavy rain, which may lead to flash flooding, remain possible in coastal and adjacent inland areas between Port Douglas and Ingham for the next few hours.
UPDATE: 4:00pm
Ergon Energy has reported they have made good progress despite challenging conditions and are now down to around 3,500 customers without power in the Far North.
Supply has been restored to around 1850 customers at Edge Hill, 810 customers at Port Douglas and 395 customers at Tully Heads.
“We still have outages in a range of locations, including Atherton, Kuranda, Mossman and Cassowary Coast:
https://www.ergon.com.au/network/outages-and-disruptions/power-interruptions/outage-finder
“In some areas the combination of heavy rainfall and strong winds brought down vegetation on to powerlines,” an Ergon Energy spokeswoman said.
Meanwhile, a Newsport reader in Mossman has advised there is no power north of the town, some of whom have been without since 2:45 this morning. It is estimated more than 1,000 homes have been affected.
PREVIOUSLY:
Douglas Shire Council is urging motorists to take extreme care when travelling on roads in the shire today following a period of heavy rain falls and damaging winds that brought down trees and powerlines.
Mayor Leu said several roads remain closed while council crews work to clear debris and hazards from roads.
“This work extends from the southern parts of Douglas Shire to Wujal Wujal in the north. Please restrict your travel and be patient while council works to make the roads safer,” she said.
Council had advised that the following roads have been closed:
- Mudlo Street (powerlines are down);
- Warner Street (powerlines are down);
- Grant Street (fallen trees) and
- Owen Street (tree fell on a car)
Council crew are clearing debris off the Mossman-Daintree Road at Rocky Point where trees are down and Coral Sea Drive at Mossman is closed, where a tree has fallen.
Check Douglas Community Dashboard for updated conditions in the shire:
dashboard.douglas.qld.gov.au
Overnight, Ex-tropical Cyclone Owen crossed the coast near Port Douglas at 3am and the Bureau of Meteorology is predicting heavy rain falls between Port Douglas and Ingham today.
More than 280mm of rain has fallen in the far North in less than 24 hours and winds have reached 90-100 km/h. Some parts of Port Douglas recorded in excess of 100mm of rain.
Meanwhile, a large number of consumers in Port Douglas and Mossman are currently without power.
According to an Ergon Energy spokeswoman, 809 customers in Port Douglas are without power and a further 200 in Mossman. Crews are working to restore power.
A spokeswoman for Ergon said in some areas, the network damage assessment and restoration effort is being hampered by weather conditions. Crews will always work to restore power as soon as practically possible, but safety is the top priority.
"We urge everyone to take care and stay line aware during storm season. If people see fallen powerlines, they should stay well away, warn others in the area and report any life-threatening hazards to emergency services on Triple Zero (000) or Ergon Energy on 13 16 70.
"Extreme weather conditions and major outages can cause telephone lines to be congested and we really appreciate everyone’s patience in these circumstances," she said
She encouraged customers to use Outage Finder as a useful tool for customers who are looking for information on a specific outage, but do not need to report a specific fault.
"While we understand customers are keen to know when the power will be back on, we cannot give them an accurate restoration time frame until crews have done a comprehensive damage assessment. Outage Finder will be updated as we know."
Access Outage Finder at: www.ergon.com.au/network/outages-and-disruptions/power-interruptions/outage-finder.
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