Thousands of Australians' Christmas travel plans have been thrown into disarray after a major airport was forced to close due to flooding like no other in 45 years.
Cairns Airport has been closed for the second time in four days after more than 600mm of rain inundated far north Queensland following former tropical cyclone Jasper.
The popular vacation spot is now “an island” where flooding has cut off roads and forced hundreds of residents and tourists to evacuate, leaving some trapped.
Many hotels in Cairns are being used as evacuation centers for those displaced by floods.
It has also led to a shortage of drinking water and residents have been urged to conserve water whenever possible.
Cairns Airport will remain closed on Monday morning and the situation will be assessed later in the day.
It is likely to remain closed as further heavy rainfall of up to 300mm is expected to drench the city on Monday before flooding subsides.
Cairns Airport was forced to close due to severe flooding. Extraordinary images showed several planes submerged in a rising stream on the runway
Severe flooding at the airport Monday afternoon is expected to exceed the 1977 flood at 12 feet (3.8 m).
The Barron River catchment received 1.5m of rain in five days.
Heavy, locally intense rainfall with dangerous and life-threatening flash flooding is forecast north of Cairns, along with 6-hourly rainfall totals of up to 300mm.
Port Douglas, Wujal Wujal, Daintree Village and Cooktown are among the towns in the firing line.
Mayor Terry James has warned that the Cairns region could run out of water if infrastructure blockages are not addressed and residents do not conserve water.
“We currently have about 30 hours left, so we are urging people to refill water while they can,” he said last night.
According to the local council, water supply pipes at the sewage treatment plant
“Cairns is like an island,” Mark Olsen, managing director of Tropical Far North Queensland Tourism, told the Today Show.
“Yesterday was definitely one for the history books, with record rainfall in the catchment.”
“At the moment our focus is on keeping the community safe – from Cairns we can't travel north to our friends in the Douglas Shire, our northern beaches are cut off, we're cut off on the motorway to the south and cut off on both tracks.” The plateaus are also currently cut off.'
The Palmerston Highway in far north Queensland has been split in half following heavy rain and flooding from former tropical cyclone Jasper
The emergency services carried out more than 250 rescue operations on Sunday night
Nine people are trapped on the roof of the hospital in Wujal. Wujal remains stranded.
Wujal Wujal Council issued an urgent motion after a crocodile was spotted at the bridge crossing
“Parents, please keep your children away from this area,” the message said.
“There are children swimming nearby.”
Mr Olsen has appealed to Prime Minister Anthony Albanese and Queensland Premier Steven Miles for more support.
“We really need to go out and assess the situation and it will take a few days to really understand it. People who have bookings for Christmas and the New Year are just giving us a few days to understand where we are at.'
Further south, Ingham is also under a flood warning as a crocodile swims in a swollen drain in the center of the town.