Ferry terminals remain closed due to raised river levels, debris and extensive damages sustained by some of the terminals and vessels. In the past few days, a CityCat vessel broke away from Hamilton North Shore terminal whilst another sank after being hit by a houseboat.
Lord Mayor Adrian Schrinner recently announced that the Bureau of Meteorology – Queensland has confirmed that Brisbane’s six-day rainfall total to Monday, 28 February of 792.8mm was the largest ever recorded for the city. The rainfall amount broke the 1974 record of 655.8mm. As a result, floodings have washed up pontoons, boats and marine buoys, massively impacting CityCats and ferry services across the city.
There has been extensive damage reported across the terminal network which could mean that the CityCat network could remain suspended for several weeks. Most vessels are reported to be safe but damage assessments would still be taken once it’s safe to do so.
Two CityCats (Kuluwin & Beenung-Urrung) were damaged by the debris flowing down the river.
On Monday, “Beenung-Urung” was seen still afloat despite being hit by a houseboat, which caused a large hole on one of its sides, before smashing into the Addison Quays at Bulimba. Tilting on its side and taking on water, the vessel sadly sank the next morning.
“Very sadly, last night CityCat Beenung-Urrung sunk in about 8m of water off Addison Quays in Bulimba. On Monday she was struck by a houseboat and loosed from her mooring,” said Councillor Murphy.
“Overnight she continued to take on water and sank at approximately 3 am. A very sad day for Transport for Brisbane and the team at River City Ferries.”
“Kuluwin”, on the other hand, was hit by a concrete pier, sending it down the river and away from Northshore Hamilton ferry terminal where it was moored, before colliding with a container ship. The vessel is now tied up at the International Cruise Terminal after it was rescued and dragged to safety by QPS.
Meanwhile, TransLink’s trains are set to resume operation beginning 3 March but with a limited timetable and network. Operations in some areas will remain suspended due to flood damage to stations, tracks and overhead wirings.
On Wednesday, 2 March, the Bureau of Meteorology said that the lower Brisbane River has now been downgraded to a moderate flood warning, however, the coming days may still see possible high peaks with high tides.