General News
27 November, 2025
$4m to fix flood woes
A MITIGATION project which would help to protect Mossman from severe floods, such as after Cyclone Jasper two years ago, has been outlined at a public meeting.
The cost could be up to $4 million.
Flood team lead Eoghain O’Hanlon of JP Pacific – the company tasked to provide solutions after the subsequent floods during and after Cyclone Jasper – has performed flood, coastal and climate risk assessments throughout Australia, Asia Indonesia and the Pacific.
The company has simulated the impacts of over 10,000 tropical cyclones and typhoons, run over 100,000 wave models and run erosion models over 300km of sandy shorelines.
Their modelling is also being used to support disaster management in a number of areas in Australia and the Pacific.
Through research using the Cyclone Jasper event, JP Pacific have evaluated the floods that effected the Douglas Shire, particularly in the Mossman and Wonga areas. Using their modelling system and levee assessments, they have provided a number of options to improve drainage and avoid future flooding.
“We look at ways to support community and emergency services, plus improve the livelihood of locals and tourists during flood events,” Mr O’Hanlon said.
The options presented provided different solutions, each with varying advantages and disadvantages in terms of flood risk reduction and where the resultant water flow may possibly affect agricultural land.
Each option also had different costs, ranging from $279,000 to $3,862,000. Ultimately, it has been recommended that a combination of these options would provide the best solution, each being addressed at different stages to be practically and financially viable.
“Our recommendations, using our research and modelling would make significant improvements in Mossman,” Mr O’Hanlon said.
Resident Christopher Saint said the cost of the recommended modifications might have financial benefits.
“We need to weight the costs to ratepayers versus the possible reduction in their insurance premiums,” he said.
A Douglas Shire Council representative said that all of the information would eventually be available to the public, once further studies had been carried out.
Meteorologist Chris Nitsopoulos, from Weather IQ, also told the meeting why so much rain fell during the period of the cyclone in December 2023.
He said a number of events made it difficult for experts to predict how the weather event would track.
“We expected the cyclone to slow down and exit out of the area in a couple of days,” Mr Nitsopoulos said.
“That didn’t happen and so the weather system pretty much stalled.
“Around Wujal Wujal, experts became unsure of the cylone’s movements, and together with the high mountain ranges, that cause warm air to move upwards, this further increased the rainfall.”
Another factor that surprised experts was a weather condition known as a ‘surface trough’, which can form in a very short period of time, unlike the original cyclone which provides more warning. This further affected the rainfall levels and the events duration.
“The Douglas Shire area was under threat for a total of six days,” Mr Nitsopoulos said.
Read More: Douglas Shire
