Roy Zammataro was sheltering at his home in Newell Beach when Tropical Cyclone Jasper unleashed its fury. As the storm raged outside, a nearby mango tree became a surprising threat, sending fruit flying through the air like projectiles. “They were like bullets, they were flying,” he recalled.
The cyclone had pummeled 40,000 premises with no power, and floodwaters had inundated areas around Mossman and the Daintree. Yet, despite the chaos, residents breathed a sigh of relief that the impact had not been as severe as anticipated. Miraculously, there were no reports of injury or loss of life.
Authorities urged residents to stay indoors for the next 12 hours to allow for cleaning crews to remove debris from roads. The Queensland treasurer, Cameron Dick, cautioningly declared, “This event is not over.”
Across the region, a range of flood warnings were issued, with some areas receiving more than 600mm of rain in just 24 hours. In Mossman, 12 residents, along with a dog, were rescued from flash flooding overnight. Local mayor Michael Kerr commended the crews that came to their aid, saying, “It would have been quite scary… But luckily there were crews there and they did a great job in getting them to dry, safe places.”
Despite the widespread damage, no major infrastructure suffered structural harm, and smaller coastal communities remained isolated due to debris-blocked roads. However, Kerr emphasized that residents had been well-prepared, stockpiling essential supplies of food, water, and candles.
Cyclone Jasper Aftermath4As the storm slowly receded, 106 people fled to evacuation centers, but they were expected to return home the following day. The Queensland Fire and Emergency Services responded to over 50 distress calls.
Tropical Cyclone Jasper had weakened into a category 1 system by the time it made landfall, leaving behind a trail of wind gusts and heavy rain. The Bureau of Meteorology warned that the north tropical coast could continue to experience floods and flash flooding for some time.
With numerous roads still impassable, including the Captain Cook Highway, residents were left to navigate the aftermath. The energy minister, Mick de Brenni, assured that power outages, affecting nearly a quarter of the region, were caused by fallen trees and branches. In Cairns, authorities urged residents to conserve water as work began to clear debris from a treatment plant.
As the storm’s effects continued to unfold, there was a chance that Jasper could intensify again in the Gulf of Carpentaria or off the Top End coast in the coming days.