Australia: Govt evacuates residents of Queensland amid record-breaking floods in region

Residents in Australia's Queensland state were evacuated on Saturday (March 11) as record-breaking floods sparked by heavy rain lashing the region's northwest. The police said that 53 residents of the isolated Gulf of Carpentaria of Burketown had been evacuated since the floods earlier this week. Around 100 residents remained in Gulf Country town, with police urging a full evacuation on Saturday, as Australia's weather forecaster predicted river levels in the area to peak on Sunday, the news agency Reuters reported.

Taking to Twitter, the police shared visuals of the flooding in Burketown and urged all remaining residents to leave."Police are strongly urging all remaining residents to leave the community of Burketown as soon as possible. This is particularly relevant to the elderly and people with young children," the police tweeted.

The Burke Shire Council, meanwhile, issued a final alert on Saturday urging the residents to evacuate. "Waters are continuing to rise in the Burketown Community and surrounding shire. At the moment, the water movements are unpredictable and are rising at a rapid rate. The safety of our community members is paramount and we strongly encourage residents to leave," the council said.

It also warned residents that sewer and power services are expected to be cut from Saturday night, according to a report by news.com.au.

Australia has been lashed by heavy rain in the last two years, driven by back-to-back La Nina climate cycles over the Pacific. However, the country's meteorology bureau has predicted drier and warmer weather in the months ahead as La Nina nears its end.

(With inputs from agencies)

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