Ex-Tropical Cyclone Jasper has been downgraded from a Category One Cyclone to a Tropical Low.
The storm was demoted after crossing the coast north of Port Douglas overnight, bringing heavy rain, flash flooding and destructive winds.
Some areas saw rainfall in excess of 400mm, while trees brought down powerlines, knocking out power to more than 40,000 homes that remain in darkness this morning.
“There is likely to be widespread network damage across several shires, including Cairns, Douglas, Cassowary Coast, Mareeba, Tablelands and Yarrabah,” Ergon Energy said.
“Our crews are leaders in disaster response and keen to get out there and get the power back on for their local communities, but there’s potentially a lot of damage over a widespread area and severe weather could hamper access to sites, so we need to set realistic community expectations”.
Despite weakening, the Bureau of Meteorology has warned heavy rain, damaging wind, and potential thunderstorms could still be on the cards today.
“Ex-tropical cyclone Jasper is no longer of tropical cyclone intensity, however, impacts from heavy to intense rainfall and damaging wind gusts with showers and thunderstorms are still likely,” the weather bureau said.
“This system will continue to gradually track westwards across the southern Peninsula.
“By late Friday ex-tropical cyclone Jasper is forecast to have traversed across the Peninsula and into the Gulf of Carpentaria.”
⚠️🌧️Severe Weather Warning for Heavy to locally Intense Rainfall leading to life-threatening flash flooding for FNQ. Major flood warning current for the Daintree River and Flood Warning for the Mossman River. Damaging winds also possible. https://t.co/FBmpsInT9o pic.twitter.com/DCSZGg0TeJ
— Bureau of Meteorology, Queensland (@BOM_Qld) December 13, 2023
Cairns Airport is expected to reopen on Thursday, however, CEO Richard Baker is urging anyone with flights to contact their airlines directly.
“Anybody who’s looking to travel I’d encourage them to contact the airlines directly, because they’ll have the absolute latest information,” he said.
