Runoff pollution from Cyclone Debbie flooding sweeps into Great Barrier Reef

Scientists have raised concerns about another sting in the tail from Cyclone Debbie, with fresh runoff pollution from torrential rains sweeping into Great Barrier Reef waters where many corals lie smashed.

The Fitzroy river mouth before and after
the cyclone. In the top image the
plume of sediment can be seen.

The cyclone dumped much of its deluge on a stretch of the north Queensland coast known as an “erosion hotspot” that generates almost a third of all sediment flowing into the reef.

Andrew Brooks, an associate professor at Griffith University, released pictures hinting at the scale of damage in the erosion-prone Burdekin catchment, as well as flood plumes from the Burdekin, Fitzroy and Gregory rivers pushing sediment and nitrogen pollution out to sea.

Brooks, in a helicopter flight partly funded by the federal and Queensland governments, flew over the area to gauge the damage on 31 March, three days after the cyclone hit.

Read Joshua Robertson’s story on The Guardian - “Runoff pollution from Cyclone Debbie flooding sweeps into Great Barrier Reef.”