Residents bracing for major flooding in an Australian town breathed a sigh of relief Thursday after a swollen river peaked lower than forecast, although hundreds of homes were still inundated.

There were fears the Fitzroy River in Rockhampton could rise to nine metres (29-feet), potentially spilling "an incredible" body of water onto thousands of properties, 10 days after a cyclone dumped massive amounts of rain on Queensland state.

But it hit a high point of just 8.75 metres, dodging the worst, which Local Disaster Management Group chairman Tony Williams said was good news for the area and its residents.

"8.75 metres is such a huge relief for our community," he said.

"They're telling us for the next 24 hours the river will stay at that height and should start to rapidly recede over the weekend."

But despite the good news and temporary levees being installed, low-lying areas of the town were still flooded, with Williams saying 217 homes had "water over their floorboards".

Emergency services officials, fire crews and the army were all on standby to help with the clean-up.

Category four Cyclone Debbie roared ashore last week, leaving at least six dead, causing hundreds of millions of dollars in damage and forcing thousands of people to evacuate.

More than a metre of rain fell on parts of Queensland, with the huge volume of water still slowly spilling down river systems and only now reaching Rockhampton.

As the clean-up continued in Queensland and northern New South Wales, the remnants of the storm were being felt across the Tasman Sea in New Zealand.

Downgraded to a low pressure system, it has dumped torrential rain on the North Island for days, causing landslides, power blackouts and flooding.

The entire 1,600-strong population of Edgecumbe was evacuated on Thursday after two rivers burst their banks.

Tweet

Big clean-up under way in flood-ravaged Australia
Sydney (AFP) April 3, 2017
A "gut-wrenching" clean-up was in full swing Monday as floodwaters receded across parts of Australia, with fears the death toll could rise after a car was swept into a swollen river. At least two people were confirmed killed after cyclone-fuelled rain and winds pummelled swathes of Queensland and New South Wales over the past week, forcing the evacuation of tens of thousands of people and ca ... read more

Related Links
Bringing Order To A World Of Disasters
When the Earth Quakes
A world of storm and tempest

Thanks for being here; We need your help. The Space Media Network continues to grow but revenues have never been harder to maintain. With the rise of Ad Blockers, and Facebook - our traditional revenue sources via quality network advertising continues to decline. And unlike so many other news sites, we don't have a paywall - with those annoying usernames and passwords. Our news coverage takes time and effort to publish 365 days a year. If you find our news sites informative and useful then please consider becoming a regular supporter or for now make a one off contribution.
SpaceMediaNetwork Contributor $5 Billed Once credit card or paypal		SpaceMediaNetwork Monthly Supporter $5 Billed Monthly paypal only