THE new Greenvale weather radar is now live on the Bureau of Meteorology (BOM) website and KAP Federal Member for Kennedy, Bob Katter, said the radar will provide valuable weather advice to people in the Burdekin sub-basin as well as parts of the Flinders, Gilbert, Mitchell, and Herbert River catchments.

The Greenvale radar is one of two new radars, funded by the $77 million Federal Government commitment, in his electorate, secured after extensive lobbying of the Federal Ministers responsible, with a second radar being installed at Flinders near Richmond.

Towns including Charters Towers, Georgetown, Ingham, and Mount Garnet will benefit from these installations.

Mr Katter said the new radar was badly needed as it will provide more precise information on weather events, and will enable farmers, fishermen and other outdoor workers to make important choices in response to weather.

“North Queensland is a place of extremes. We have flooding rains, cyclones and powerful squalls which come in out of the blue with little to no notice, like Niran earlier this year.

“In 2019, half a million livestock were lost during severe flooding from a monsoonal rain event.

“Farmers, mining camps, ships at sea, residents and tourists all use these services to prepare and proactively manage risks,” he said.

“Up here, even 10 minutes could mean the difference between a life and a death and working radars are an absolute essential service. In Niran, the farmers south of Innisfail reported wind gusts more than 90km/h and yet that was very different to what the BOM were saying,” Mr Katter said.

“Congratulations to all involved in securing the new radars and credit where it is due, to the BOM for the service they provide the north, the only reason we haven’t had a death so far is because of the access to forewarnings.

“There is still work to be done on the intermittent failures being reported to my office, and I’ll continue to put pressure on the Government to see these rectified.”

KAP Member for Hinchinbrook, Nick Dametto, thanked those who were involved with the installation of the new radar at Greenvale.
“Without access to accurate weather updates it’s like flying a plane with no gauges,” he said.

“The Local Disaster Management Group, SES, Emergency Services and residents rely on the BOM weather updates to make timely decisions, which is critical to responding to a weather event.

“This is welcomed news to ensure constituents in the Herbert River catchment can prepare, respond and recover from weather events.”