Australia
Outback floods: “Unprecedented flooding”
After days of heavy rain, parts of the Australian state of Queensland are under water. photo
© Milmarja Yanner/CARPENTARIA LAND COUNCIL ABORIGINAL CORPORATION/AAP/dpa
Rivers reach “unprecedented water levels”: In the Australian state of Queensland, water masses flood remote towns. Local residents are preparing for an evacuation.
After days of heavy rain, parts of the Australian state of Queensland are under water. The remote outback towns of Doomadgee, Burketown and Gregory are particularly badly affected, as the Australian broadcaster ABC reported on Friday. The area is in northwest Queensland, near the Gulf of Carpentaria. Emergency services said the flooding was “unprecedented” for the region. As river levels continued to rise, local residents were urged to prepare for evacuation.
“Some of the flooding is heavier than ever recorded,” said a spokesman for the Shire of Burke local government. “We’re not talking about the worst flood event in 10, 20 or 50 years – some of the rivers have reached unprecedented water levels.”
Earlier this year, a flood of the century left a trail of devastation in the Kimberley region of north-west Australia. Floods and heat records repeatedly occurred in Down Under last year. Australia is particularly suffering from the consequences of climate change. Experts assume that the country will be hit even more frequently by devastating natural events in the future.