Townsville City Council has advised residents to be aware of Council facilities closed and services impacted by the low-pressure weather system forecast to affect the North Queensland coast this weekend (January 10-11).
In line with advice from the Townsville Local Disaster Management Group (TLDMG) to limit movement to essential travel only around the Local Government Area (LGA), the following Council facilities are closed:
- Ross River and Ross River Dam - CLOSED from 6pm today (Friday) to recreational users, including community groups using Ross River. Please stay away from the dam gates.
- All waste facilities (Stuart, Hervey Range incl. Refindit Tip Shop, Magnetic Island, Bluewater & Toomulla) – CLOSED Saturday and Sunday.
- The Strand beaches, Riverway pools – CLOSED Saturday and Sunday.
- Citylibraries, Galleries and Theatre – CLOSED Saturday and Sunday.
- Community Centres – CLOSED Saturday, Sunday and Monday.
- Mount Stuart Road, Castle Hill Road and walking tracks, Mount Louisa walking trails – CLOSED from 1pm today (Friday).
- Animal Care and Adoption Centre – CLOSED Saturday (reopening Monday).
- Peggy Banfield Park and The Strand playgrounds – temporary closures today (Friday) as crews remove shade sails.
- Open space bookings – CLOSED Saturday and Sunday
Open spaces team members will be in contact with parties affected by site closures and subsequent cancellations.
Townsville Mayor Nick Dametto urged residents to limit their movements to essential travel only, and to bunker down over the weekend as the system passed.
"As is often the case with extreme weather conditions in the North, there is a degree of unpredictability as to what the impacts of this system will be and where they will be most strongly felt," Cr Dametto said.
"For these reasons, we are asking the community to limit their travel as much as possible this weekend and in line with this advice and in the interest of safety for all involved, we have issued a number of Council site closures and service suspensions.
"At this stage, these closures are effective for the weekend only with a return to normal operations planned for Monday.
"This is with the exception of the Community Centres, which will also be closed on Monday.
"Should any further closures or service suspensions be deemed necessary, we will ensure the community is informed as soon as possible.
"We encourage residents to remain prepared – ready your home for the impacts of severe wind and rainfall and know your evacuation plan.
"Additionally make sure your emergency kit is ready with enough food, clothing and medications for three days."
To stay informed visit the Emergency Management and Disaster Dashboard or go to the Townsville Disaster Information Facebook page.
