Operators of the Queensland dam whose automatic gates unleashed a wall of water after Cyclone Marcia hit have defended not opening the gates earlier.
The Callide Dam's automatic floodgates opened when the storm hit on Friday, sending a two-metre-high wall of water rushing through the Callide Creek and on to Biloela, Jambin and Goovigen.
The outpouring destroyed homes and businesses, killed livestock and flattened crops.
In the wake of the destruction, some have questioned why the dam's operators, Sunwater, didn't open the gates earlier to reduce the water levels.
But spokesman Tom Vanderbyl said on Wednesday this wouldn't necessarily have helped.
"People are asking us, why didn't we force open the automatic floodgates?" he told Fairfax Radio.
"We simply don't know if that would've made things better or worse."
"There is a real possibility that it might've made things worse."
Sunwater estimates the equivalent of 1.8 Olympic swimming pools worth of water was released per second when it was discharged at about 10.30pm on Friday.
He reiterated the company's statement the storm cell dumped a "one-in-ten-thousand-year" burst of rainfall onto the catchment area.
Mr Vanderbyl said there were "lessons learnt" after a similar flooding event in 2013 and the company had implemented changes around gate operation and notification of residents directly downstream of the dam wall.
Nevertheless, Banana Shire Mayor Ron Carige said locals were swamped when the wall of water hit.
"The force of the water has decimated a lot of the rural properties," he said.
"We're up to about 300 head of cattle found wandering around."
He said one property alone lost 100 cattle in the torrents.
Former Queensland Fire Service deputy commissioner Iain MacKenzie, appointed Queensland's Inspector General of Emergency Management in 2013 after seven years as the QFS deputy commissioner, is expected to lead an independent review into the incident.
Queensland Premier Annastacia Palaszczuk has also pledged to "get to the bottom" of what happened.
Hydrologist experts have also noted the Callide Dam is a water supply dam, and is not designed for flood mitigation.
Share
