Tropical Cyclone Tiffany has formed in the Coral Sea and is expected to cross into Queensland on Monday night, the Bureau of Meteorology reports.
Tiffany was sitting approximately 235km northeast of Cooktown on Sunday, and is expected to bring damaging to destructive winds and heavy rain to communities in far north Queensland.
The tropical cyclone is then expected to move into the Gulf of Carpentaria, potentially intensifying before impacting areas of the eastern Northern Territory from Wednesday.
“From tomorrow, people in far north Queensland communities will start seeing and feeling the effects of Tropical Cyclone Tiffany as it comes closer to the coast, which means an increased risk of flooding and some localised damage in these regions,” Senior Meteorologist Dean Narramore said on Sunday.
Other parts of Queensland have already been struck by floodwaters with one person dead and an evacuation order issued for parts of the city of Maryborough.
Authorities had expected the river to peak in Maryborough above a major flood level of 10.5 metres, impacting about 80 homes on Sunday afternoon, after the remnants of tropical cyclone Seth dumped 600mm on the Wide Bay-Burnett region in two days.
The levee was protecting the CBD until an underground stormwater valve failed just before 2pm, allowing floodwater to surge through the drains and into the streets.
A 22-year-old’s body was found in a submerged ute at Kanigan, north of Gympie, on Saturday.
Police also hold grave fears for a 14-year-old girl swept away while abandoning a flooding car.
On Sunday morning, Queensland Premier Annastacia Palaszczuk said emergency services were readying for the cyclone.
“So to all the residents in those areas please be on the lookout, I know that they know how to deal with these events,” she told reporters.
“They’re very well prepared and we’ll be keeping a very close eye on that.”
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