Sydney, March 29 (IANS) Residents have been airlifted to safety amid record-breaking flooding in remote northern Australia.
Over 100 homes have been flooded in a number of small towns over 1,000 kilometres west of Brisbane in the outback of the northeastern state of Queensland following record-breaking rainfall.
The Bureau of Meteorology (BoM) said in a major flood warning issued on Saturday that the floodwater peak in the region had surpassed the record-high set in 1974.
Residents of the small towns of Adavale and Jundah, as well as multiple remote properties, were evacuated by air after the flooding cut off access by road.
Cattle farmer Geoff Lloyd, who was airlifted from his property on Thursday, told Nine Network television on Saturday that the losses in the region have been “horrific.”
“I’ve been boating and living on that river for 30 years, and this is nothing we’ve ever seen,” he said.
According to the industry body Meat and Livestock Australia, the area is one of Australia’s most significant cattle farming regions, Xinhua news agency reported.
Lloyd said that local helicopter pilots had been working to save the lives of people and cattle but were running low on aviation fuel.
Speaking on the general election campaign trail in Brisbane on Saturday, Prime Minister Anthony Albanese said that 2.5 million Australian dollars ($1.57 million) in federal and state funding had been allocated to airdrop fodder for cattle affected by the flooding.
“We will make whatever resources are available, including the Australian Defence Force, it’s possible that they might assist in some of the drops,” he said.
As of Saturday morning, the BoM had major flood warnings in place for eight rivers and two creeks in the region.
People in the affected area have been urged to contact authorities to organise their evacuation by air.
On Saturday morning, Tropical Cyclone Dianne made landfall on the coast of Western Australia at 5 a.m.. The storm was set to weaken to below cyclone levels throughout the morning.
In the state of New South Wales, the BoM has forecast heavy rain for much of the day around Sydney and in the state’s north.
The BoM predicted “widespread rain and the chance of thunderstorms across most areas, contracting to the east and clearing the far west of the state during the day.”
–IANS
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