More than 1500 tonnes of sand and almost 70,000 sandbags were deployed across Townsville in the lead-up to Tropical Cyclone Koji, prior to the system making landfall between Ayr and Bowen on Sunday morning.
But with the Tropical Cyclone downgraded, leading to western Queensland copping a deluge of rain, Townsville Mayor Nick Dametto said Council was back to business as usual – aiming its sights at overgrown grass and pothole maintenance across the city.
"I'm extremely pleased our community heeded the advice of the Townsville Local Disaster Management Group during the recent weather event, and while it may have passed to the south of us, the fact our community were prepared left many feeling at ease," Cr Dametto said.
"But as the worst of the weather clears, Council is getting back to the basics – our core business, with crews working hard mowing grass and fixing any damaged roads.
"It was terrific to see the crews straight out cleaning up The Strand on Sunday morning, really highlighting how much pride they have in the work they do.
"We all know during the hot and rainy wet season months, our grass literally jumps out of the ground, so our crews are doing their best to get those overgrown parks and sections under control where and when they can.
"Heavy machinery and boggy conditions don't mix, so some areas may need to be left to dry out a little longer to avoid damaging our great public spaces.
"We had more than 120 reports of potholes during the recent event, so it's great to see the community either calling through to Council, jumping on Council's website, or reporting damage through the Snap Send Solve App.
"We currently have four roads crews making their way across the city to complete repairs as quickly and safely as possible."
During the recent weather event, Council's call centre received 269 calls (January 10-11), and the Townsville Disaster Information Facebook page received 4.1 million views (Jan 6-11).
Councillor Dametto said residents would be able to get some reprieve from the steamy conditions with a number of our stinger nets being re-installed across the local government area, including at The Strand and Horseshoe Beach yesterday (Tuesday) and Pallarenda and Balgal Beach on Thursday.
"Unfortunately one net was damaged during the weather event, so the Picnic Bay net will be reinstalled once it is repaired in the coming weeks," he said.
"The community will be able to swim in our wonderful beaches with confidence once again, albeit a little wet with rain expected to continue on and off over the next week."
