Supermarket shelves are empty in Far North Queensland while heavy rainfall continues making all three access roads impassible for trucks bringing supplies from the south.
The situation in Cairns has been so acute that Cairns residents are travelling to the Atherton Tablelands supermarkets in search of food.
A washed out bridge on the Bruce Highway at Rollingstone, north of Townsville, has been temporarily repaired by army engineers to allow emergency services and some trucks through to flood-ravaged Ingham.
A shortage of bread and naturally toilet paper, reminiscent of the Covid era, has hit the lower socio-economic groups which rely on bread as a staple.
There was a brief window yesterday when some trucks were able to get through along the Lynd Highway starting at Hughenden and heading north to the Tablelands and Cairns however that opportunity was closed by rising floodwaters.
A Coles spokesman said there were many trucks waiting at road closures on the Gregory Development Road and the Bruce Highway in a number of flooded locations.
“In the meantime, we have had pallets of food and essentials flown in on emergency flights organised by the Queensland Government – with another flight schedule for tomorrow with another 30 pallets of food, including some fresh produce,” the spokesman said.
“While we are continuing to closely monitor the situation in Far North Queensland, we are starting to get deliveries into areas like Cairns as roads reopen.
“We will continue to get more deliveries through when the roads are open so we can get food back on our shelves for our customers.
“We want to thank our customers for their ongoing patience, as it will take some time before our stores are back to normal.”