The monsoonal flow pattern just won't let go in northern Queensland. Days and days of rain, and now this amazing and horrible rainfall. 624 mm - that's more rain than falls in a place like Petaluma in an entire year, all falling within ten hours. 180 mm - that's almost as much rain that has ever fallen in Sacramento in a day, ever, all falling within one hour:
HUNDREDS of Mackay residents spent last night in emergency accommodation after their homes were swamped by floodwaters from the biggest monsoonal downpour to hit the city in 90 years.
Many of the same residents who bunkered down at four makeshift evacuation centres overnight had earlier been forced to scramble on to roofs to escape a wave of waist-high water that swept through up to 1000 homes.
A total of 624mm was dumped on Mackay in the 10 hours to noon yesterday, nearly half the city's annual rainfall of 1561mm and almost twice as much rain as Brisbane has received so far this year.
An incredible 180mm fell between 8am and 9am.
As waist-high water flowed down the city centre, firefighters and Emergency Services rescued dozens of people trapped in their homes and vehicles.
The deluge also disrupted power and telecommunications, forced the closure of the airport and cut roads to the city.
Overwhelmed sewage stations overflowed into 200 homes.
The damage bill from the flash flooding, compounded by a high tide, is expected to run into the tens of millions of dollars.
Premier Anna Bligh will tour the flood-ravaged city today after officially declaring the area a disaster zone.
The worst affected suburbs were Glenella and the CBD, with nearly every home caught at least in waist-high flash flooding.
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