Flooding
The river is prone to flooding, most recently in February 2008 when a height of just over 7.0 metres (classed as moderate flooding according to the Bureau of Meteorology) was recorded at a gauge in the centre of Mackay. This height was reached after extremely heavy rain fell over Mackay (600 mm in 6 hours). After the devastating Mackay cyclone of 21 January 1918, the river was flooded for weeks. The Pioneer has reached major flood levels on 20 occasions since records first began in 1884, with the highest reaching 9.14 metres in 1958.
Read more about this topic: Pioneer River