The weather bureau has declared a serious situation in Townsville with severe storms dumping intense rain into the catchment of the city's already swollen dam.
"Intense rainfall is being observed over the Ross River Dam catchment - serious situation," the bureau warned in a storm warning issued at 12.43pm on Sunday.
"Severe thunderstorms are likely to produce intense rainfall that will lead to dangerous flash flooding in the warning area over the next several hours."
Residents evacuating to higher ground in Hermit Park Townsville on 3/2/19. Source: AAP
Locations which may be affected include Woodstock and Ross River Dam Catchment.
At about the same time the warning was issued, Townsville mayor Jenny Hill was giving an update about the management of the dam, amid north Queensland's flood disaster.
The dam is currently at 232 per cent of capacity, with very heavy rain forecast for Monday and Tuesday and possibly beyond.
She said the dam was currently doing its job, mitigating more widespread flooding in Townsville where several hundred homes have already been inundated.
But she did not rule out ramping up water releases from the dam, which were ordered last week despite the risk of a small number of low-lying properties being flooded as a result.
At the time she said the releases were necessary to protect the majority of the Townsville community.
On Sunday, she said hydrology experts were assessing the latest rainfall data to decide if further action would be needed.
"We don't know how much rain is still likely to flow into the Ross River Dam catchment. We cannot give you any certainty about what we are going to need to do into the future," she said.
Graham Crighton kayaking in flood waters in Hermit Park Townsville on 3/2/19. Source: AAP
The dam was rebuilt after Townsville's devastating 1998 floods.
Earlier on Sunday, the weather bureau confirmed Townsville had broken its seven-day rain record set in that year.
The city has copped 1,012mm of rain over the past week, eclipsing the 886mm recorded in 1998. It has even beat the city's 10-day rainfall record of 925mm, set in 1953.
