Power and water outages are continuing to take place across the Whitsunday region this morning, with residents asked to continue conserving their water supply as much as possible until the issue can be resolved.
The Whitsunday Disaster Coordination Centre has been working with Ergon Energy since yesterday to reestablish temporary generators until power can be fully restored to the water treatment plants.
The Centre would like to thank residents for their patience and understanding as all agencies continue to try and restore essential services to the region, after Tropical Cyclone Debbie.
Please be aware that once the water treatment plants have been successfully restored to generator power, residents will notice dirty water coming from their taps, which is due to a build up of biofilm inside the water mains.
Whitsunday Regional Council will flush the water mains, once power is returned, however Council suggests residents continue to conserve water and boil water to use for drinking, as a precaution until full services are restored.
Rubbish collection contractors have cancelled todays’ services due to flooding last night, and many landfill sites and transfer stations across the region are not yet accessible by contractors.
Please be advised Bowen Landfill has been opened this morning, on Bowen Developmental Road, and Cannonvale Transfer Station on Carlo Drive is also open to the public.
In the meantime, residents are asked to put green waste on their footpaths for now until collection or drop off services can be established. Do not take green waste to Council’s dump facilities today as they are not yet functional.
Operators across the region are working hard to bring facilities back on line as soon as possible.Flash flooding and inundation is continuing to affect the region this morning, and residents are reminded to stay off the roads and if it is flooded, forget it.
To hear the latest up-to-date information and official advice, listen to your local radio stations and follow the Whitsunday Disaster & Emergency Facebook page here - https://www.facebook.com/WhitsundayDisasterandEmergencyInformation/
Important phone numbers:
If you have a life threatening emergency, please call 000 immediately.
If you require SES assistance, please call 132 500. The SES’s priority after the event will be providing access to residents (eg. Clearing trees from driveways etc.)
If you need to contact the Whitsunday Disaster Coordination Centre, please call 1300 972 006 and provide information as requested by the telephone operator.
Red Cross has now opened Register.Find.Reunite. and is urging people that may be affected by Cyclone Debbie to get in touch with their families and friends. Please visit www.redcross.org.au to register, or look for someone.