Thousands have been urged to higher ground as Australia battles flooding

SYDNEY:

Australian authorities on Sunday urged thousands of people in the northern state of Queensland to move to higher ground due to the risk of flooding from torrential rains.

Queensland authorities said there was extensive flooding in some suburbs of Cairns, a tourist hub of about 170,000 people about 1,700 km (1,060 miles) north of the state capital Brisbane.

“Properties in these areas may continue to experience flooding with the approaching high tide and continued rainfall. Residents should move to higher ground now,” Queensland Fire and Emergency Services said on its website in one of the many emergency alerts for areas of north Queensland.

The flooding came with heavy rain from ex-tropical cyclone Jasper, which hit the region this week, leaving tens of thousands without power and forcing evacuations.

Australia’s weather forecaster predicted “dangerous and life-threatening flash flooding” in Cairns – a gateway to the Great Barrier Reef – and said water levels later on Sunday could surpass the 1971 flood record of 4.1m (13.45 feet).

The Cairns Local Disaster Management Group said homes, buildings, roads and bridges had been flooded.

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“Power, water, sewer and telephone services could be lost in the area,” the agency said in a statement.

There was also flooding about 120km north of Cairns in the tourist town of Daintree Village, where about 350mm (13.8in) of rain had fallen since 9am on Saturday (2300 GMT Friday), the forecaster said.

A forecaster spokesman, Dean Naramore, told the Australian Broadcasting Corp the weather system had stalled but could move west overnight, reducing rain in Cairns and surrounding areas.

Frequent flooding has hit eastern Australia in recent years, including “once-in-a-century” floods that inundated the neighboring Northern Territory in January during a multi-year La Nina weather.

Australia is now experiencing an El Nino weather phenomenon, usually associated with extremes such as fires, cyclones, droughts and heatwaves like the one that hit parts of the country on Saturday.