The Mackay Floodplain Risk Management Study and Plan (the Plan) was a priority project from the Mackay Flood and Stormwater Management Strategy (adopted in 2017) as riverine flooding from the Pioneer River was identified as the greatest risk to the region in terms of flood hazard Consultants WRM were commissioned to prepare the Plan in order to better understand and mitigate this risk The Plan represents the largest and technically most complex project undertaken in the field of flood risk management in the Mackay region to date Council adopted the Mackay Floodplain Risk Management Study & Plan at the Ordinary Meeting on November 24 The Plan includes updated flood studies for: The studies will supersede the Goosepond Creek (including Pioneer River) Flood Study (WRM 2012) the Mackay CBD Drainage Study (AECOM 2015) and the Shellgrit Creek Flood Study (Cardno 2014) The Bakers Creek (Walkerston) Flood Study was undertaken separately to the Floodplain Management Plan and supersedes the Bakers Creek/Walkerston Flood Study (WRM 2013) The new Bakers Creek study was undertaken as part of the TC Debbie Flood Studies (2017-2019) and uses the new Pioneer River overflows determined in the Pioneer River Flood Study The study area for the Mackay Floodplain Management Plan is shown in Figure 1 Figure 1 – Study area of Mackay Floodplain Management Plan The various flood studies were updated considering the latest flood modelling techniques (Australian Rainfall and Runoff) and were calibrated (where relevant) to the TC Debbie event in March 2017 Key findings of the flood studies are as follows: The Australian Rainfall and Runoff (ARR) 2016 design rainfall for Mackay were applied in the model The flood frequency analysis for the Goosepond Creek Catchment raised concerns in adopting ARR 2016 in the catchment Figure 2 shows the dominant source of flooding in the Mackay region for the DFE which is the 1% Annual Exceedance Probability (AEP) event including climate change factor Figure 2 – Dominant source of flooding Key findings on the dominant source of flooding are that storm tide now dominates in East and South Mackay (instead of Pioneer River overflow) Parts of Cremorne are potentially vulnerable to structural damage for the 1% AEP event The Plan also included the development of flood damage estimates for Mackay This was based on a survey of 25 properties in Mackay and supplemented with other data sourced from Brisbane Assessing the damage caused by flooding is an important component of the floodplain management process as it is used in assessing the benefit cost ratio or various flood mitigation options The Plan has investigated structural flood mitigation options to reduce the number of properties affected by above floor flooding The largest number of properties impacted by above floor flooding were in the Mackay City area where there are 600 houses identified as experiencing above floor flooding from the Pioneer River in a 1% AEP event Storm tide caused the second highest number of properties to experience above floor flooding with 344 houses identified as having above floor flooding from a 1% AEP storm tide event Structural mitigation options identified in Figure 3 Figure 3 – Structural mitigation options proposed in the Plan Recommended floodplain risk management measures for Mackay include: The Plan underwent peer review by consultants BMT in 2019 and the reports were amended in 2020 considering the findings of the peer review Key issues identified in the peer review included: climate change sensitivity; Goosepond Creek flows and storm-tide starting water level A further high-level peer review of the final reports was undertaken in late 2020 by consultants Water Technology The 2021 reports have been amended considering Water Technology’s comments and the Mackay Ring Road has been included in the Flood modelling reports Concerns remain about the design flows in the Goosepond Creek Flood Study and this study is provided for information only and is not expected to be adopted until the Bureau of Meteorology can provide comment and review of the 2016 rainfall data The existing flood levels for Goosepond Creek from the 2012 study will remain until this work is finalised The flood extents and flood level information from the flood studies (excluding Goosepond Creek) are suitable for inclusion in the Mackay Region Planning Scheme and for use by other key stakeholders interested in flooding in these catchments and we pay our respects to Elders past and present Learn more about Council's Reconciliation Action Plan (RAP) 1300 MACKAY (622 529)council@mackay.qld.gov.au North Queensland community rallies around two girls who witnessed the shooting at the Robb Place home A shocked community has rallied around two girls after a woman was allegedly shot dead in front of them in her car by a neighbour Tributes have poured in for Natalie Frahm after the 34-year-old was killed in the driveway of her Mackay home in north Queensland on Wednesday afternoon Frahm was in the car preparing to leave for a sporting activity with the two girls in the back seat when she was allegedly shot by Ryan Geoffrey Cole is also accused of shooting a good Samaritan after the girls – aged 11 and 12 – escaped the vehicle and raised the alarm Sign up for Guardian Australia’s free morning and afternoon email newsletters for your daily news roundup James McGill, 66, came to Frahm’s aid after the girls asked for help. He suffered hand and chest injuries after allegedly being shot by Cole but is in a stable condition in hospital after surgery. Cole was a neighbour but did not know Frahm, police said. “The community is reeling. This is the sort of thing that just doesn’t happen in Mackay,” Mackay Mayor Greg Williamson said. “A random, outrageous act of violence is something that takes a lot of time to absorb – it’s just such a tragic event.” Frahm’s parents have flown in from Mount Isa, with floral tributes starting to arrive outside her South Mackay home. Read moreShe was remembered as a kind person and keen athlete, with her local Thai boxing club among many paying tribute. “Natalie always had the most infectious smile, always helping where ever she could, making close friends with many of the other members,” the club’s Facebook post said. The club also set up a GoFundMe fundraiser for the girls, with more than $9,000 already pledged on Friday. Support has been provided to the two girls as the South Mackay community also tries to process the incident. “The two young girls who were in the back of the car and ran off to get help are going to live with this for the rest of their lives,” Williamson said. The mayor hailed the bravery of the girls as well as McGill, who approached the alleged gunman after answering their calls for help. “How good was that? It’s a typical Australian reaction I think – you go in and help,” he said. Free daily newsletterOur Australian morning briefing breaks down the key stories of the day, telling you what’s happening and why it matters Cole is accused of shooting Frahm and McGill before driving away, sparking an emergency lockdown and police manhunt. He was later arrested at a nearby service station and was charged with murder and attempted murder on Thursday. “They have settled down but now it’s the grief that is associated with trying to acknowledge that this has happened.” The mayor said the South Mackay community would now start the healing process while rallying behind the girls. “It is a very tight community around there,” he said. “It’s going to be a grieving process which will take a fair while to work out … but over the next few days the community will rally.” Police are investigating how Cole allegedly gained access to a firearm after having a weapons licence revoked three years ago. The Queensland premier, Steven Miles, said he may consider a police request “down the track” to strengthen gun laws to avoid a similar incident. In Mackay, the Queensland police minister, Mark Ryan, said police would investigate the alleged use of an illegal firearm. “Investigators will run a full investigation to get to the bottom of things. This person allegedly had firearms illegally,” he said. “His weapons licence had been cancelled. Part of the investigation will look to how he might have come in to possession of this illegal firearm. But that work, we have to allow police to do it. The police will do a full investigation on that and provide more information as things progress.” Cole was remanded in custody after his matter appeared in Mackay magistrates court on Thursday. This website is using a security service to protect itself from online attacks. The action you just performed triggered the security solution. There are several actions that could trigger this block including submitting a certain word or phrase, a SQL command or malformed data. You can email the site owner to let them know you were blocked. Please include what you were doing when this page came up and the Cloudflare Ray ID found at the bottom of this page. Watch 17sDetective Acting Superintendent Emma Novosel said a man, charged with murder and attempted murder, lived near the woman who was shot dead in South Mackay on Wednesday night. CNN and the BBC World Service which is copyright and cannot be reproduced AEST = Australian Eastern Standard Time which is 10 hours ahead of GMT (Greenwich Mean Time) The authorities set up an exclusion zone in the South Mackay suburb and asked members of the public to avoid the area A 31-year-old man was arrested in the Australian state of Queensland on Wednesday (Jun 19) following what authorities described as a "shooting incident" in the suburb of South Mackay The authorities were earlier called to an address in Robb Place at about 4.30pm local time (2.30pm Singapore time) following reports that a woman had been shot and a man was located with non-life-threatening injuries to his hand," the Queensland Police Service said in a statement A manhunt was then launched for the suspect and an emergency situation was declared at about 5.20pm An exclusion zone was also set up with boundaries encompassing Robb Place The Queensland Police Service said in an update that the man was taken into custody at about 7.45pm outside a fast food restaurant along the Bruce Highway and is currently assisting police with investigations." "Members of the public are reminded to avoid the area and those within the exclusion zone are asked to remain indoors until further notice," said the authorities Get our pick of top stories and thought-provoking articles in your inbox Stay updated with notifications for breaking news and our best stories Join our channel for the top reads for the day on your preferred chat app We know it's a hassle to switch browsers but we want your experience with CNA to be fast Upgraded but still having issues? Contact us Stunning guests at the second annual Mingle at Melba revelled in a unique cultural affair as part of the Mackay Festival of Arts Please call us on 1800 070 535 and we’ll help resolve the issue or try again later Any Questions? Please call 1800 070 535 Saturday & Sunday 7:00am – 11:30am (AEST)