 Due to the heavy rainfall , severe flooding occurred , mostly between Tully and Cooktown , with the worst impact in the Cairns area . Many creeks and rivers , such as the Herbert , the north and south branches of the Johnstone , and McLeod rivers overflowed or reached dangerous levels . Much of the damage in North Queensland occurred to newly planted sugar cane , with approximately 70 to 90 percent of area 's crop destroyed . Twenty growers in <unk> each lost between $ 20 @,@ 000 to $ 30 @,@ 000 in sugar cane . Damage to this crop was comparable to the floods in 1977 . In total , the storm destroyed 270 @,@ 000 to 315 @,@ 000 tonnes of sugar cane . 
