Paroo Rivers

This brochure describes the flood risk and previous flooding in the River catchment, last updated in July 2025.

Flood Risk

The Paroo River catchment is located in southwest Queensland and covers an area of approximately 31,000 square kilometres. The river rises in country to the north of Cheepie and flows in a southerly direction. It is joined by its major tributary, Beechal Creek, immediately below Humeburn before passing through Eulo, and eventually crossing the Queensland-New South Wales border at Hungerford.

The Paroo River catchment is in an arid part of Queensland, with average annual rainfall in the order of 300-400mm. As a result the Paroo River presents intermittent flows and is no more than a chain of waterholes for much of the year.

Floods normally develop in the headwaters of the Paroo River and Beechal Creek, however, flooding may result from heavy rainfall falling in the middle to lower reaches of the catchment. Flooding in the Paroo River is slow due to the relatively flat topography, large floodplain and high number of interconnected channels. The flood waters take around a week to pass from the top of the catchment to the New South Wales border.

The town of Eulo is not usually directly affected by floodwaters, with water only entering the lowest parts of town in major flood events. However significant disruption to transportation, extensive inundation of pastoral land and significant stock losses occurs during major flood events. Hungerford is more susceptible to flooding, with water entering the town during major flood events.

Widespread rainfall of 100mm or more will typically lead to major flooding on the Paroo River.

Previous Flooding

The Paroo River at Eulo has a well-documented history of flooding dating as far back as 1890 with Hungerford having records dating back since 1974.

The April 1990 and March 2010 floods at Hungerford, on the Queensland-NSW border, caused both inundation of several residences and isolation by floodwaters for a considerable period of time.

In March and April 2025, record flooding occurred in the Paroo catchment, with record flood levels observed at both Eulo and Hungerford. This was the result of persistent heavy rainfall caused by a slow moving trough in the area, with between 200-300mm recorded across the upper catchment over 48 hours, and daily totals in excess of 100mm. This flooding caused widespread stock losses, damage to fencing and scouring of topsoil due to the fast flowing nature of the water, as well as damage to homesteads and long isolation periods.

The table below summarises the flood history of the basin - it contains the flood gauge heights of the more significant recent floods.

Flood Event	Eulo (m)	Caiwarro (m)	Hungerford (m)
Jan 1974	5.79	4.77	2.90
Apr 1990	5.80	4.77	2.92
Mar 2010	6.27	4.99	2.87
Mar 2020	4.61	4.24	2.16
Mar/Apr 2025*	6.51	5.11	3.15

 

All heights are in metres on flood gauges.

*Preliminary values subject to verification