Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander readers are advised that this article contains names of people who have died.
An inquest into the deaths of two men during North Queensland's 2019 floods has found nothing could have been done to prevent the tragedy, which unfolded as they fled from police.
The two men had been running from police after robbing a liquor shop in Aitkenvale in the early hours of February 4 when they jumped into flood waters.
Their bodies were found in a culvert in Aitkenvale the next day after the waters subsided.
The inquest examined the events leading to the deaths of Palm Island men Troy Mathieson, 23, and Hughie Morton, 21, along with the police response, and if a grate on the storm water drain would have changed the outcome.
State Coroner Terry Ryan ruled it was not possible to know if a grate could have saved the pair.
He said the mens' swimming abilities, debris in the water and pull factor had also contributed to the tragedy.
Evidence was given by 12 witnesses, including emergency services personnel and water experts, during a two-day hearing in Townsville in September last year.
The inquest heard police didn't log the Palm Island men's disappearance as a major incident as they initially thought they had successfully navigated across to the other side of the raging torrent.
Mr Ryan found that even if search and rescue personnel had been able to enter the water within 30-45 minutes of the men going missing, it's likely they would have already died.
Civil engineer Grant Witheridge told the inquest the conditions faced that night were" hydraulically the worst possible" and while a grate on the storm water drain may have prevented their deaths, he wouldn't recommend installing one due to the flooding issues it would create in future.
"If you placed the screen at this particular intersection it would cause several complications and it would probably increase the likelihood of a loss of life on Ross River Road," Mr Witheridge said.
"So you would benefit in one respect but you would pay a price as a direct consequence of it."
Mr Ryan cited evidence from Mr Witheridge who said mandating the use of "inlet grates" or "safety screens" on all pipe and culvert inlets would be a "bad thing for Queensland".
He also rejected calls from Mr Mathieson's and Mr Morton's families to introduce more fencing and signage.
"I do not consider it necessary to recommend that all those locations should be fenced off having regard to the potential intended consequences of barriers that would restrict the natural flow of water into the drainage catchment," Mr Ryan said.
Calls from the family to improve the policing response to natural disasters including the introduction of a flood water training and establishing firm protocol when someone is seen entering flood waters are under consideration by the Queensland Police Service as part of its review process.
