'Real risk': Queensland premier warns of new weather threat after ex-cyclone

Monday, 12 January 2026 08:44

Wind speeds of 113km/h were recorded at Hamilton Island, whilst Mackay received around 250mm of rain in less than 24 hours.

Queensland Premier David Crisafulli has urged residents in the state's north to be aware of floods as heavy rain continues to batter the region after ex-cyclone Koji.

The tropical low made landfall in Ayr, south of Townsville, yesterday with large parts of the northern coast lashed by wind and rain.

Wind speeds of 113km/h were recorded at Hamilton Island, while Mackay received around 250mm of rain in less than 24 hours.

A severe weather warning is in place for the Whitsundays region.

A severe weather warning is still in place for the Central Coast and Whitsundays region between Gladstone and Mackay, with several major flood warnings also being issued by the Bureau of Meteorology (BOM) in smaller parts of Queensland.

Rockhampton is being told to expect up to 130mm of rain today, with Rolleston further inland potentially copping up to 200mm of rain.

Crisafulli said he was proud of how the state had responded to the ex-cyclone, but insisted the danger was far from over.

The weather threat in Queensland still remains after ex-cyclone Koji.

"Our message remains that there is that risk of heavy rainfall, and that's always been what we've consistently said," Crisafulli told Today.

"There are the real risk of having those really heavy rains, which could lead to flooding because those catchments are very full."

He said there had been no loss of life from the weekend's storms, but around 40,000 livestock and cattle are estimated to have perished due to the weather.

Crisafulli praised the efforts of communities, councils and emergency services and the federal government for helping limit the impact of the severe weather.

Queensland Premier David Crisafulli urged residents in impacted regions to remain vigilant as more heavy rains are expected in the next two days.

"At one stage, we were at 23,000 homes and businesses without power, that is now down to 2500," he said.

"That doesn't happen by magic, that happens because people work through the night and resources are on the ground."

He urged Queenslanders to remain vigilant over the next couple of days: "Queenslanders know how to handle heavy rain, we are a very disaster-resilient state, we'll just continue to put out that messaging that there is that risk in the next 24-48 hours of some really significant rainfall in patches.

"If people do the right thing and make their preparations, we will get through this unscathed."

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