Townsville residents return home as flood falls short of feared peak

ABC NEWS (Australia)

North Queensland’s largest city is breathing a sigh of relief, with the flood falling short of its feared peak. Residents who evacuated Townsville’s low-lying Black Zone have now been cleared to return home.

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00:00After two anxious nights in a crowded evacuation centre, a happy homecoming for Kim Cawthorn

00:11and her little girl, reunited with their beloved budgie and eager to put the flood stress behind

00:20them.

00:21It feels good to get home, to know that everything's safe and sound, all our belongings, we didn't

00:27get water on the property.

00:29Fears of a major flood peak this morning didn't materialise, giving displaced locals the news

00:35they were hoping for.

00:36All areas of the black zone can now return.

00:39I think I really want to go back to my place and have a nice hot shower in my house.

00:43There have been no reports of major damage to homes in the city.

00:47I kind of felt worried because I felt like there'd be another flood, but there wasn't,

00:52luckily.

00:53Peter Walker's been keeping a watchful eye on his property.

00:57As you can see, pretty hard to get in, but fortunate enough is that we've got no inundation

01:03in the units, which is a big tick compared to where we were before.

01:07Streets like this one were among the hardest hit during the 2019 floods.

01:12During that disaster, water came up right over this fence.

01:16While there has been some inundation this time around, it's nothing like the devastation

01:21locals experienced this time six years ago.

01:24There is no doubt that the city has dodged a bullet.

01:31The raging Ross River is still a sight to behold.

01:34Greater Townsville remains cut off.

01:37A wildlife sanctuary south of the city copped widespread damage and flooding.

01:42Low security prisoners are lending a hand.

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