'Once In A Century' Flood Leaves Communities Isolated In Northwestern Australia

According to Reuters, the crisis in the Kimberley was sparked last week by severe weather system Ellie, a former tropical cyclone that brought heavy rain.

A view of flooding in Fitzroy Crossing, Australia

Source : AFP

New Delhi: As Australia is witnessing record-breaking floods in the country's northwest, Military helicopters on Sunday airlifted hundreds of people from communities that were isolated by "once in a century" floods, an official leading relief effort said noting water covered some places "as far as the eye could see", Reuters reported.

According to Reuters, the crisis in the Kimberley was sparked last week by severe weather system Ellie, a former tropical cyclone that brought heavy rain.

"The water is everywhere," Western Australia Emergency Services Minister Stephen Dawson told reporters in Perth.

"People in the Kimberley are experiencing a one-in-100-year flood event, the worst flooding Western Australia has had in its history," he added.

He further said that in some parts flood waters stretched for 50 kilometres with inundation "as far as the eye can see".

The town of Fitzroy Crossing, a community of around 1,300 people, has been among the worst hit, with supplies having to be airlifted in due to flooded roads.

Reuters reported that only 233 people had so far been evacuated from Kimberley due to flooding, where around 50% of residents are Aboriginal.

The Bureau of Meteorology said on Sunday that rain had eased as the storm shifted eastwards to the Northern Territory, but warned that "record-breaking major flooding" continued in the Kimberley.

"Many roads are impassable and many communities are now isolated," the forecaster said on its website.

The Fitzroy River hit 15.81 metres (52 feet) at Fitzroy Crossing on Wednesday, breaking its 2002 record of 13.95 metres, a bureau spokesperson said.

State emergency authorities have warned residents in other small communities of rising water in the region, which includes the resort town of Broome, about 1,240 miles (2,000 km) north of Perth.

Prime Minister Anthony Albanese on Saturday described the flooding as "devastating" and pledged federal assistance.

Australian Defence Force aircraft were being used to assist flood-hit communities, and Chinook helicopters were en route to help relocate residents, according to authorities on Saturday.

(With inputs from Reuters)