Nearly 50,000 still without power in Townsville in wake of ex-Tropical Cyclone Kirrily as clean-up begins | Australia weather

Thousands of Townsville residents are still without power as northern Queensland begins to clean up after ex-Tropical Cyclone Kirrily.

Damaging winds and rainfall totals from 100-150mm hit regions on Thursday evening but minimal property damage was recorded.

About 66,000 customers experienced a power outage at the peak of the cyclone’s coastal crossing but as of Saturday morning 48,000 households remained without power.

Ergon Energy deployed 600 crews to continue restoration efforts and said the focus would be on Townsville, which had the majority of outages.

“This will be a marathon restoration effort, with damage over a widespread area, so we appreciate the community’s patience in the heat and humidity over a long weekend,” an Ergon spokesperson said.

The Queensland premier, Steven Miles, said power outages were also affecting phone networks and water supply for about 10,000 households.

He urged people affected to continue to conserve water and know that crews were prioritising reconnection.

“Thankfully, we know of no loss of life and very minimal property damage at this stage … which is really great news when you compare it to what we could have expected given earlier predictions of the cyclone,” he said on Saturday.

The Bureau of Meteorology warned that remnants from the weather system would move to western parts of Queensland, bringing extreme moisture and heavy-to-intense rainfall.

Emergency crews were called to help a group of people who became trapped in rising flood waters near Charters Towers on Friday night.

Three off-road vehicles went recreational driving to view the effects of the storm but became stranded due to rising flood waters.

The cars held 14 people, including four children, and were stranded for a short time.

Two members of the public attempted an unauthorised rescue with a small vessel. It capsized with two people onboard, but the occupants were able to get to land safely.

A local mustering helicopter successfully airlifted the group to safety.

Hundreds of State Emergency Service volunteers are supporting locals while low-security prisoners from the Townsville Correctional Complex have also joined clean-up efforts.

The prisoners from Townsville Men’s low security farm and the Winton, Boulia and Julia Creek work camps have been deployed to the Billabong Sanctuary, which suffered significant damage when the cyclone made landfall.

Correctional manager George Muir said the detainees were excited to be able to help with the clean-up.

“Many prisoners have learned how to use chainsaws and other equipment as a part of the work they do at the farm and if they go to the work camps,” he said.

“It is the Australian way to want to lend a hand when disaster strikes and the prisoners get huge pride in being able to give back to the community like this.”