A veteran driver himself, Charters Towers based Deano Hutch is doing what he can to help his fellow truckie mates who’ve been caught out by heavy rains and flash flooding.
“Water at the Macrossan Bridge at the Burdekin River is about 5 metres over and still rising,” he told Big Rigs at about 11am this morning.
“Reports are saying it’s at the sixth highest of all time and it’s still going.
“We’re all worried because there’s a lot more rain that’s going to funnel through. I’ve seen a lot of trucks parked up around town as is what normally happens when we get this sort of rain.
“It’s raining here now at Charters, but not heavily. The big system is north of Townsville now. I spoke to someone there and it’s drizzling at the moment, the rain is still north of us.”
Deano, 51, drives for Legacy Haulage, delivering new furniture between Brisbane and North Queensland each week in road trains and B-triples – though that’s currently on hold, as flash flooding wreaks havoc on the road network.
“I can’t work as we can’t reach our customers at the moment,” he said.
In the game for almost 35 years, prior to that Deano was an interstate truckie, pulling triple road trains for Exodas – so he knows all too well how challenging it can be when you’re caught out far away from home.
“I sung out to Nathan Bennett who is fleet controller at Exodas and said I’m up here if any drivers need to stop by and wash some clothes or need a lift for a meal.”
As he spoke to Big Rigs, he was about to get in the car and visit local roadhouses including the Puma and IOR at Charters Towers to see if any truckies needed any help.
“I’m happy to offer a truck driver friendly service for drivers who are stuck, taking them to the pub for meals and things like that,” said Deano.
As a result of flooding, Charters Towers Regional Council has also just advised those in the town to follow water saving measures to ensure water supply can be maintained. This follows an intake failure at the Weir.
“By reducing the water that residents use, it will help preserve the ongoing supply in the reservoir.”
The council has asked residents to follow water saving measures including delaying washing any clothes, taking shorter showers and only flushing the toilet when necessary.