In communities across [Far North Queensland](https://www.9news.com.au/national/north-queensland-flood-updates-government-announces-100-million-dollar-grants/b7996fb3-564f-4131-83ff-cb3d712042c6 "Far North Queensland"), supermarket shelves remain bare two weeks after floods submerged highways, cutting off the region. While bridges have been rebuilt and grocery stores have reopened, shoppers are still grappling with [extremely low supplies](https://www.9news.com.au/national/queensland-floods-banana-shortage-coles-woolworths/63baba2b-6472-41da-a5f2-9f6d9fb7563a "extremely low supplies") in some areas, including Cairns. Large sections of shelves in a Cairns Woolies store remain empty, impacting residents' access to essential goods.
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03-12, 2025The collapse of a crucial bridge on the Bruce Highway last week, due to the floods, caused significant delays in delivering much-needed food, water, and fuel to areas north of Townsville. The Bruce Highway officially reopened north of Ingham at the Seymour River last Friday, restoring a vital transport link. Bianca, a Melbourne influencer and food blogger who also spends part of the year living in Cairns, shared video footage of a local Woolworths store, highlighting the situation.
Refrigerators, freezers, and shelves in Cairns supermarkets have been emptied as they urgently await resupply from major distribution centers. "The insane amount of rain that has hit FNQ, which has caused flooding from Townsville to Cairns, hasn't really affected us," Bianca said. "However, we are cut off from a lot of supplies because the roads are closed, as we are north of the affected areas... It's insane, it's worse than Covid, if that's even possible," reflecting the severity of the supply chain disruptions.
At Woolworths stores north of Mackay, purchases are temporarily limited to two items per transaction for products including toilet paper, rice, bread, noodles, deli items, and poultry. Coles Regional Manager Brad Stewart said in a statement shared with 9news.com.au that the supermarket giant is working to resupply, but it may take longer than expected. "Our teams in Far North Queensland and across the eastern seaboard are doing everything they can to ensure our customers can access the groceries they need in our stores, but it will take some time to get shelves back to full stock of everyone’s favourites," Stewart said.
"Since Friday, we have managed to transport more than 1300 pallets of food and groceries, averaging more than 110 pallets per store, including fresh produce, meat, dairy, bread and grocery staples such as toilet paper, water, soft drinks, snacks, pasta, rice and cereals. We want to thank our customers for their patience and our team for servicing the community during this very challenging time." A Woolworths spokesperson stated that its "priority" is to get much-needed groceries to affected areas of Queensland. "Whether that means having trucks parked at the edge of floodwaters, waiting to cross as soon as they recede, or airlifting supplies into communities," the spokesperson said.
"We thank our teams in our Far North communities who have now worked for well over a week to keep our doors open for our customers in exceptionally challenging circumstances. The Far North spirit is truly shining through in the support our customers are showing our teams, and we thank them for their patience and understanding as we work hard to replenish shelves with whatever stock we can get our hands on. We ask our customers to continue to look out for one another and to only buy what they need." This collaborative approach is essential for navigating the ongoing challenges and ensuring community well-being.
