Queensland’s ‘short-lived’ Cyclone Koji leaves a long flood tail as rivers surge again

When the Bureau of Meteorology signed off its technical report on Tropical Cyclone Koji, forecasters described the January system as “short-lived” off the north Queensland coast. Two months later, with rivers still spilling into streets from Bundaberg to the outback and disaster assistance rolling across dozens of shires, the impacts of that “short-lived” cyclone are still being felt.

Heavy rain and flooding have persisted across northern and western Queensland since late December, culminating in a fresh emergency in March as swollen rivers triggered evacuations, school closures and major transport disruptions.

State authorities have formally dubbed it the “Queensland flood event, March 2026,” but for many residents it feels less like a new disaster than the latest chapter in a summer that has barely paused.

The current flooding follows an exceptionally wet monsoon, the passage of Koji in January and, most recently, another tropical low that crossed the state’s north in early March. Emergency managers say that sequence left catchments saturated and primed for the widespread riverine flooding now unfolding.

Months of rain, not a single storm

The state’s disaster declarations trace the crisis back to Christmas Eve.

On December 24, 2025, the Queensland Reconstruction Authority activated Disaster Recovery Funding Arrangements for an event it formally titled the “North Queensland Monsoon Trough, Associated Tropical Cyclone Koji and Severe Weather.” That designation, jointly funded by the state and Commonwealth, recognised that heavy rain and flooding were already affecting the north before Koji formed.

Koji developed as a tropical low in the Coral Sea on January 7 and was named a Category 2 cyclone on January 10. It crossed the coast between Ayr and Bowen late on the morning of January 11, weakening to a tropical low just before landfall.

While winds caused local damage and power outages in the Whitsunday and Mackay regions, the greater impact came from rain. In the Pioneer River catchment south of Mackay, several gauges recorded more than 350 millimetres in 24 hours to 9 a.m. on January 11. One site at Mt William registered 601 millimetres in 48 hours.

In a post-season summary, the Bureau of Meteorology said Koji was “short-lived as a defined tropical cyclone off the north Queensland coast,” but that its associated weather system had “extensive” impacts over northern and western Queensland through prolonged heavy rain and flooding.

Inland, floodwaters moved slowly through central and western basins. By February, dozens of local government areas from the Gulf Country to the central west had been added to the disaster assistance list, including Longreach, Mount Isa, Cloncurry, Boulia, Diamantina and Barcoo.

As that water receded in some areas, more rain arrived.

On March 5, a new tropical low crossed the state’s north, drawing the monsoon trough south and delivering multi-day downpours across coastal and inland regions, including parts of the Wide Bay, Burnett and Fraser Coast.

By the second week of March, major flood warnings were in place for rivers on both sides of the Great Dividing Range.

Bundaberg cut off as rivers rise

Bundaberg, on the Burnett River, again found itself in the spotlight.

As rain from the March low fed into upper catchments, forecasters warned the Burnett would reach major flood levels in the city, with a peak between 7.4 and 7.6 metres expected around March 11. Emergency alerts urged residents in several low-lying suburbs to leave immediately.

Rising water forced the closure of both bridges linking North Bundaberg to the central business district, temporarily cutting off thousands of residents from the city’s main commercial and service hub.

The disruption was felt across sectors. Bundaberg’s legal community reported court appearances postponed or shifted online and staff struggling to commute. With some schools closed and families evacuating, the federal Department of Education declared a Child Care Subsidy “period of emergency” for the Bundaberg local government area from March 10 to 13.

The declaration allowed early childhood services to close or waive gap fees while subsidies continued to flow and gave families unlimited allowable absences so they would not be penalised for keeping children at home.

For Bundaberg, the sight of the Burnett lapping at levees and bridge decks is not new. The city was devastated in 2013 when the river peaked above 9 metres, displacing thousands. Since then, residents have repeatedly pressed for stronger flood defences and tighter planning controls for at-risk suburbs.

Major flooding from the coast to the outback

Further south, the Mary River at Maryborough also reached major flood levels in March, exceeding 12 metres. The Fraser Coast city has endured several severe floods in recent years, including major events in 2022 and 2025.

Farther inland, long, flat river systems carried the season’s accumulated rain through the Channel Country.

At Windorah in Queensland’s central west, Cooper Creek rose to around 5.25 metres in mid-March, classified as a major flood. Authorities warned water levels would remain elevated for weeks as the flood wave moved downstream, affecting graziers, remote towns and pastoral properties spread over vast areas with limited road access.

The wide geographic footprint has left communities facing different kinds of isolation. In Far North Queensland, local councils reported extended road closures and urged residents to use council disaster dashboards to find information on evacuation centres and safe routes. In the west, stock losses, washed-out fences and destroyed pastures added to the toll on primary producers still recovering from previous floods.

The state government has urged motorists to heed longstanding public safety messages.

“If it’s flooded, forget it,”

official guidance on the Queensland Government’s disaster portal says, directing people to check the Qld Traffic website before travelling and to contact the State Emergency Service on 132 500 for flood and storm assistance.

Assistance and insurance mobilise

To support those affected, the Queensland Reconstruction Authority has rolled out a broad suite of measures under the Disaster Recovery Funding Arrangements covering the monsoon, Koji and subsequent severe weather.

These include emergency hardship grants, essential services reconnection assistance, support for repairing or rebuilding essential public assets such as roads and bridges, and concessional loans and freight subsidies for primary producers and small businesses. In the hardest-hit rural areas, emergency fodder packages have been made available for livestock.

The federal government is contributing through Services Australia disaster payments and income support in eligible regions, alongside the Bundaberg child-care subsidy measures.

The insurance sector has also escalated its response. On March 12, the Insurance Council of Australia declared a “significant event” for Queensland flooding, including the Bundaberg region and Burnett River catchment, a step it uses to coordinate data collection and claims handling across member companies.

“Insurers’ first priority is community safety and we strongly encourage everyone impacted to follow the directions of emergency services and avoid any activity that could put their safety at risk,” Insurance Council chief executive Andrew Hall said in a statement announcing the declaration.

“Our advice to policyholders is to lodge a claim as soon as you can, even if you don’t yet know the full extent of the damage,” Hall said.

He also pointed to broader questions about how communities manage growing flood risk.

“Communities along the Queensland coast have long lived with flood risk, but the gap between existing protective infrastructure and what is needed remains far too wide,” Hall said, adding that more investment was needed “in resilience before disasters, not just recovery afterward.”

Health risks and fatigue after a “season-long” emergency

As with previous tropical flood seasons, health officials have warned of risks beyond the immediate danger of fast-moving water.

Queensland Health has issued reminders about melioidosis, a serious bacterial infection linked to exposure to contaminated soil and water in the tropics, and urged people to avoid wading through floodwater where possible, wear protective footwear and seek medical advice if they develop symptoms.

The state’s disaster pages direct residents to 13 HEALTH for non-urgent medical concerns and list mental health services including Lifeline and Beyond Blue, acknowledging the strain that repeated emergencies can place on individuals and communities.

For many in northern and western Queensland, this latest peak follows more than two months of clean-up, reconstruction and waiting for rivers to fall from January’s floods before rising again.

Local leaders and emergency workers have spoken of fatigue among volunteers, council staff and residents facing yet another round of sandbagging, evacuation and insurance paperwork.

With the wet season not yet over, authorities are warning the focus will eventually shift from immediate response to longer-term rebuilding—and to decisions about how to reduce the damage when the next wet summer arrives.