Far North Queensland residents calling for emergency accommodation _ 9 News Australia

far north Queensland residents in one of the areas hardest hit by December's disastrous downpours feel they've been left high and dry a month on .

They're calling for practical emergency accommodation , frustrated at the lack of pace within the recovery timeline .

Welcome to Diarra In the state's far north , less than 100 people live here , their homes nestled amongst dense rainforest .

Up here , isolation is a part of the lifestyle .

But in the aftermath of December's deluge , they've never felt so alone .

I didn't expect any help .

I just needed some help .

We just needed help , that's all .

Michelle and Billy Dunn barely made it out of their home when a torrent of water swept in and up , forcing them to crawl out of a window , clinging to a tree for hours to survive .

We were left .

Look what we have to keep looking at .

Houses destroyed , muddied belongings piled outside .

Diarra is a disaster zone , and locals just want to get stuck into the clean up .

But with power down and roads wrecked , it's nearly impossible .

Without serious help .

We can provide assistance for countries overseas within a matter of days , but our own residents in this country have now been waiting over a month .

Mayor Michael Kerr says emergency accommodation organised by the Housing Department isn't cutting it , claiming caravans have been delivered to the region .

But the government won't park them on private property .

It's clearly bureaucracy gone crazy .

I mean , here we are .

We've got caravans sitting three hours walk away from where these residents are , the premier says .

With roads badly damaged , it's risky driving too much machinery in too soon .

And until power , sewage and water are restored to Diarra , the vans can't go there .

There's also been a suggestion now from the Council of a Road Reserve that they own , uh in Diarra , and the Housing Department will consider whether it's possible and appropriate to put the caravans there .

They need the road access they need to make sure that they have access to services .

They need mental health support .

They need it today .

Straight to Lily Greer at Newstead Now Lily , is there any relief in sight for this community ?

Well , an update tonight for residents up that way , The Douglas Shire Council has been locked in discussions with the Queensland Reconstruction Authority and the Housing Department late into this afternoon , well Council wants is these vans to be moved onto private properties and council owned road reserves closer to where the struggling residents are at the moment .

But they say , so far , the housing department isn't budging .

Discussions are tonight ongoing into the possibility of finding a safe and appropriate location for these vans to go .

The reconstruction authority says Council has access to a million dollars in grants to address the local needs of the residents there , and council says it will be making use of that million dollars .

In the meantime , what sort of weather will residents up there we be dealing with as they try to battle their way back from this disaster ?

Well , unfortunately , the Bureau of Meteorology says that tomorrow there is the chance for severe thunderstorms and heavy rainfall in that region .

As for the Southeast , well , there is the possibility of thunderstorms down this way , too .

Ashland , we're gonna have your full weather wrap up a little later in the bulletin .

We'll see you soon , Lily .

Thank you .