CQ could have coped with cyclone

Mayor Brad Carter.

CYCLONE evacuation centres in Yeppoon and Rockhampton had been identified and were ready to provide a safe haven if required, Mayor Brad Carter says.

“If we had been directly in the firing line of Cyclone Ului I’m confident we could have coped,” he said yesterday.

“We had identified suitable centres – one in Yeppoon and one in Rockhampton – and although they are not custom-built cyclone shelters, they would have provided a good service in an emergency.”

The Mayor said the Local Disaster Management Group, which met again yesterday afternoon, had decided not to activate either the disaster control centre or evacuation centres.

“In light of the downgrading of the cyclone and that it is unlikely to cause any significant impact in the next 24 hours, we have decided to continue to monitor the situation but that it is not necessary to do more at this stage,” he said.

“We ask that residents continue to monitor broadcasts and be aware there is likely to be heavy rain. There is a small potential for the cyclone to reactivate, change course and head towards us, but we are advised that is unlikely.”

He said that although there were concerns that flooding would occur as a result of the predicted heavy rains in the north of the region it was hard to estimate the risk.

“The good news is that the river systems are currently dropping and there will be some capacity in the system to cope.”