Monitoring of Floods
The Hinchinbrook Shire Council and the Bureau of Meteorology maintain a comprehensive network of rainfall and river height stations throughout the catchment of the Herbert River.
A number of manual and semi-automatic stations enhance transmission of this information. Flood predictions and warnings are made in both general and specific terms. The automatic sites transmit data by radio to a Council computer in Ingham on a regular basis. Manual readers at a number of key locations also provide visual river height readings for confirmation of the electronic data. All river heights are measured from riverbed level.
The Bureau of Meteorology categorises flooding as minor, moderate and major and together with the Council, predicts specific heights and times of the flood at Ingham Pump Station. Knowledge of the flood height at Ingham Pump Station allows an assessment to be made of the impact of flooding in the Ingham, Halifax and Lower Herbert areas.
Abergowrie flood heights are taken at Abergowrie Bridge, the deck of which is 10m above bed level. All Ingham and Lower Herbert flood heights are related to Ingham Pump Station. Residents should be aware that floodwaters can continue to rise downstream of Ingham and surrounds for some hours after Ingham Pump Station has peaked.
The Flood Height Comparison lists significant heights at Ingham Pump Station and their probable effects around Ingham and downstream.
click here to download the Flood Height Comparison Chart
Hinchinbrook Shire Council has also developed flood height comparison information which is specific to the Lower Herbert Community to enable residents to be better prepared in the event of flooding.
The information acts as a guide to prompt consideration of preparation and options for residents when flood levels are reached.
CLICK HERE TO DOWNLOAD THE LOWER HERBERT HALIFAX FLOOD HEIGHT COMPARISON chart
