Worst Flooding On Record For Western Australia; Water 30 Miles Wide In Fitzroy River Floodplain
Western Australia’s worst flooding on record has spread as authorities relax road rules so essential supplies can reach the country’s north-west. Emergency evacuations continued in the Kimberley region on Thursday as Fitzroy River’s flood peak bore down on tiny Noonkanbah.
Helicopters plucked anxious residents from the sodden outstation as evacuations continued after three Australian Defence Force planes arrived to help with the airlift.
“People in the Kimberley are experiencing a one-in-100-year flood event, the worst flooding WA has ever seen,” the emergency services minister, Stephen Dawson, said. “This situation is still changing and it’s proving to be extremely challenging.”
About 60,000 cubic metres of water per second is flowing down the swollen Fitzroy River, which was expected to create a 50km-wide inland sea as it spreads across the flood plain. Looma and Willare were also under threat after the river reached a record 15.81 metres upstream at Fitzroy Crossing, home to about 1,200 people, while dozens of people from surrounding communities have been evacuated. Major flooding is expected at Noonkanbah from Friday into Saturday.
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It comes as Ex-Tropical Cyclone Ellie continues to dump heavy rain with strong winds on the Kimberley region, where falls of up to 400mm have been recorded in and around Broome over a 48-hour period. The slow-moving weather system has moved to the south-east and is expected to move further inland towards the Northern Territory on Friday afternoon.
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https://www.theguardian.com/australia-news/2023/jan/06/authorities-struggle-to-deliver-food-and-essentials-to-towns-stranded-by-was-worst-ever-floods
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