A record-breaking flood in Australia’s Queensland state was forecast by Australia’s Bureau of Meteorology to peak on Sunday, after almost 100 residents of an outback town were moved to higher ground.
The flood, triggered by heavy rain over the past week, is worst in the remote Gulf of Carpentaria town of Burketown.
Dan McKinlay, chief executive of the local council responsible for Burketown, said on Sunday that 97 residents had been airlifted out in the past 48 hours.
The crisis comes after frequent flooding in Australia’s east over the last two years due to a multi-year La Nina weather event, including once-in-a-century floods that hit remote areas in the neighboring Northern Territory, in January.
