LACK of official warnings and a heavy reliance on word of mouth during the devastating New Year floods were highlighted this week when Central Queenslanders had their chance to appear at the Queensland Floods Commission of Inquiry.
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The inquiry held hearings at Rockhampton on Monday and Emerald on Tuesday and Wednesday as part of its investigations into the unprecedented flood disaster that impacted 70 percent of the state.
The Commission of Inquiry will deliver an interim report in August 2011 covering matters associated with flood preparedness to enable early recommendations to be implemented before next summer's wet season, with a final report to be delivered by January 2012.
Among the primary producers who appeared at the hearings were Theodore cotton producer Fleur Anderson; cattle producer Burnett Joyce, Gyranda, Theodore; and Rolleston broadacre farmer Max Mayne, Mayneland.
Mrs Anderson, president of the Dawson Valley Cotton Growers Association, told the inquiry that in the wake of the floods which saw 70pc of the entire Dawson Valley crop washed away, key among growers' concerns was the need for official monitoring of local creeks.
In her statement to the inquiry, Mrs Anderson said there are key creeks between Taroom and Moura which are not monitored, preventing farmers and other local agencies from getting accurate predictions on river heights during the floods.
She told the inquiry that she and her husband Kirk and daughter Tilly decided to self-evacuate after Mr Anderson continually monitored local creeks - the Castle and Lonesome - himself. It proved a wise move with the Andersons cut off from their flooded cotton property for 18 days.
"The local council did the best they could with the resources they had, but were unable to provide any significant early warning and recovery to people in outlying areas," she said.
The call for more official gauging of local waterways was echoed by Max Mayne, Mayneland, Rolleston, whose property was also entirely inundated for two weeks.
In his written statement to the inquiry, Mr Mayne said there was no official warning provided to residents in the area, with the only warning coming via word of mouth from people upstream.
"There needs to be more gauging in local waterways such as the Meteor Creek and Comet River," he said.
"I also think there needs to be more automated rain gauges back towards the Arcadia Valley and upstream of Rolleston to get a more accurate warning in our area."
Among Mr Mayne's concerns was the need to provide more flood- mitigation measures in the district, including flood-proofing some key, low-lying roads.
During the floods, Mr Mayne used his helicopter to not only ferry supplies for himself and the local community from Emerald and Rockhampton, but also had to rescue a group of people stranded in the Arcadia Valley who had been isolated in their car for two days.
He said a big issue during the floods was lack of Avgas available to civilian aircraft.
"When I flew back to Rockhampton to pick up supplies, the government had ordered that no Avgas was to be provided to non-emergency service aircraft. In my view, we were an essential service to the Rolleston community and the fuel was needed for this purpose."
Theodore district cattle producer Burnett Joyce told the inquiry in his statement that warning of the impending flood at his family's property, Gyranda, was also by word of mouth.
Gyranda was cut off for a number of weeks, and had its power cut off for a week without any warning.
Among Mr Joyce's recommendations was the implementation of rainfall monitoring of the Dawson River catchment area at a regional level.
The inquiry winds up its hearings this week, with another final session in Brisbane.
