Emergency services in the Australian state of Queensland evacuated residents to higher ground on Saturday as record flooding triggered by heavy rain hit the region’s northwest.
Fifty-three residents of the isolated Gulf town of Burketown, about 2,115 km (1,314 miles) northwest of the state capital Brisbane, were evacuated after heavy rain caused flooding earlier this week, police said on Saturday.
Around 100 residents remained in the town, with police planning to evacuate more people on Saturday as the national weather forecaster predicted river levels in the area would peak on Sunday. “We’re confident we can move the remaining people if we have to,” Superintendent Tom Armit told the Australian Broadcasting Corporation, adding that floodwaters were still rising in the remote area.
The state of emergency comes after frequent flooding in eastern Australia over the past two years due to multi-year La Nina weather, including “once-in-a-century” flooding that hit remote areas in the neighboring Northern Territory in January.
In Burketown, the flood surpassed the March 2011 record of 6.87 meters after up to 293mm of rain fell on Thursday and Friday, the Bureau of Meteorology said earlier.
Police coordinated a helicopter evacuation to the mining town of Mount Isa, about 425 km (264 mi) to the south. Flood warnings were in place for large areas of Queensland on Saturday and there were also warnings of severe storms, heavy rainfall and potential flash flooding in many parts, including the Gulf country.
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