Damaging gales be here all week

Sign damage: Fire crews and Ergon Energy workers were called to Porky’s Motel on Gladstone Road yesterday afternoon

MEGAN LEWIS

HIGH winds that battered the region at the weekend could continue to cause damage all week, weather forecasters warned yesterday.

Gales slammed into the Capricorn Coast, with some extreme gusts touching 60kmh, whipping up the surf at Yeppoon and Emu Park.

It was blustery at times inland too.

A large advertising boarding was blown over in Gladstone Road on Sunday afternoon, causing police to close one lane of the Bruce Highway and switch off traffic lights for a time.

The sign, at Porkys Motel, swung precariously and threatened to crash to the ground.

Squally showers continued to make it unpleasant to be outside at times, but there were plenty who enjoyed the windy conditions.

Surfers braved the waves at Emu Park where Peter Cumming and his daughter Zoe clearly had a great time in what Peter described as some of the roughest conditions he’s seen at the resort.

“We wished we’d bought our boogie boards when we got here and saw how windy it was.”

Fresh south-easterly winds will continue to blow at between 23 and 36 kmh each day until Saturday in Rockhampton according to Weatherzone.

A mild flood warning remains in place for the Fitzroy River Basin and there’s a 70% chance of rain today and tomorrow, but the Bureau of Meteorology says the river should remain below minor flood level in Rockhampton.