Sections of a major Australian highway have been washed away, as flooding in Queensland worsens.<\/p>\n
The torrential rainfall in the state\u2019s north has claimed one life so far and forced thousands to flee their homes, with communities in Townsville, Ingham, and Cardwell among the hardest hit.<\/p>\n
\u201cRecord\u201d downpours are set to continue, authorities say, with parts of the region already experiencing almost 1.3m (4.2ft) of rain since Saturday, causing dams and rivers to overflow.<\/p>\n
Prime Minister Anthony Albanese \u2013 who was briefed about the response efforts on Monday \u2013 said that the disaster had bought out \u201cthe best of Australians\u201d.<\/p>\n
\u201cI\u2019ve seen Australians helping one another in their time of need,\u201d he wrote on X, adding that the \u201cthreat from floodwaters\u201d would persist in affected areas for days.<\/p>\n
Efforts to reach the hardest-hit areas have been hindered by the partial collapse of the Bruce Highway \u2013 a vital thoroughfare stretching 1,673km (1039 miles) across the state, which is longer than the road between London and Warsaw.<\/p>\n
The Queensland Trucking Association told the ABC that the damage \u2013 which caused a bridge to cave in \u2013 could add an extra 700km to key driving routes, slowing down the delivery of critical supplies.<\/p>\n
Queensland\u2019s Premier David Crisafulli offered his condolences to the \u201ctight-knit\u201d town of Ingham \u2013 where a 63-year-old woman died in a rescue attempt after a State Emergency Service (SES) dinghy capsized on Sunday.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe are deeply sorry for their loss,\u201d he told reporters, adding that he would travel to north Queensland later Monday.<\/p>\n
He also urged all residents located in the so-called \u201cblack-zone\u201d of the floods \u2013 which includes six Townsville suburbs \u2013 to not return home, due to the ongoing threat posed by the nearby Ross River.<\/p>\n
Australia\u2019s Bureau of Meteorology said the area received six months of rainfall in three days, while the Townsville Local Disaster Management Group warned that 2,000 homes could be inundated, some up to the second floor, as water levels rise.<\/p>\n
The persistent deluge \u2013 which is gradually easing according to weather reports \u2013 has swollen waterways throughout the region. Major flood warnings remain in place for communities along the Hebert, Ross, Bohle, Horton, and Upper Burdekin rivers.<\/p>\n
Emergency responders have continued working around the clock, with the SES receiving 480 calls for help overnight Sunday into Monday and performing 11 swift water rescues. Widespread power outages continue to be reported though, making it impossible for some communities to call for assistance.<\/p>\n
SES Deputy Commissioner Shane Chelepy urged people to stay vigilant and check on their neighbours wherever possible. He added that some 400 people were now being housed in evacuation centres across Townsville, Ingham, and Cardwell.<\/p>\n
Located in the tropics, north Queensland is vulnerable to destructive cyclones, storms, and flooding.<\/p>\n
But climate scientists have warned that warmer oceans and a hotter planet are creating the conditions for more intense and frequent extreme rainfall events.<\/p>\n
Meteorologists say the current floods could be the worst to hit the region in more than 60 years.<\/p>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Sections of a major Australian highway have been washed away, as flooding in Queensland worsens. The torrential rainfall in the state\u2019s north has claimed one life so far and forced thousands to flee their homes, with communities in Townsville, Ingham, and Cardwell among the hardest hit. \u201cRecord\u201d downpours are set to continue, authorities say, with […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":0,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-109361","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-uncategorized","entry"],"jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack-related-posts":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/chezaspin.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/109361","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/chezaspin.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/chezaspin.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/chezaspin.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=109361"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/chezaspin.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/109361\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/chezaspin.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=109361"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/chezaspin.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=109361"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/chezaspin.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=109361"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}