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Mayor of flooded Qld town just wants the rain to keep falling

Five-year-old Shaquarn Weribone in the flooded Balonne River at St George.

Five-year-old Shaquarn Weribone in the flooded Balonne River at St George. Photo: AAP

The mayor of a Queensland region just wants more rain despite homes being evacuated due to flooding and a river peaking many metres above normal flow.

The Balonne River is forecast to peak at up to 12.3 metres on Thursday afternoon in the drought-ravaged town of St George, about 500 kilometres west of Brisbane.

Warnings have been issued and the swollen river has cut off roads, isolating about 200 people in the area.

Several homes have also been evacuated as the floodwaters have continued to rise. Authorities estimated about properties will be flooded, while one house is expected to get water above its floorboards.

Diesel generators have been working at all hours pumping water into private dams for farmland across the region.

st george rain floods qld

Bring it on: Balonne Shire Mayor Richard Marsh wants it to keep raining. Photo: AAP

But there are still some areas that resemble a dust bowl – and morerain is needed, Balonne Shire Mayor Richard Marsh said.

“What we’re looking at now is can we pick up some more rain for some of our more outlying properties that maybe haven’t had enough,” Cr Marsh said.

“That’ll come, hopefully.

“If we can have six to 12 months of decent rain, we should be right to go.”

St George pensioner Peter Goodwin lives on the banks of the Balonne River and isn’t worried about flooding through his house.

“I do not have a worry at all, it won’t get anywhere near me,” Mr Goodwin said.

“All rain is a good help, it’s nothing to be nervous about. No one has been impacted a great deal that I know of.”

The township of Bollon, west of St George, has been cut off since Monday after days of heavy rain flowed into the Wallum and Mungallala Creeks.

SES regional operations centre coordinator David Bennet told the ABC supplies were being boated into the town’s hospital and chemists.

The township’s levy, built in 2015, is being tested for the first time, nevertheless, authorities expect locals to be cut off for days.

The floodwater is slowly been travelling down the Balonne River. It is expected to hit the town of Dirranbandi, about 100 kilometres south of St George, by the end of the week.

The Bureau of Meteorology expects the water to take days – and even weeks – to recede.

The excess water is expected to cross the border into north-west NSW by early March.

-with AAP

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