Sydney, March 29
Residents have been airlifted to safety amid record-breaking flooding in remote northern Australia.
Over 100 homes have been flooded in a number of small towns over 1,000 kilometres west of Brisbane in the outback of the northeastern state of Queensland following record-breaking rainfall.
The Bureau of Meteorology (BoM) said in a major flood warning issued on Saturday that the floodwater peak in the region had surpassed the record-high set in 1974.
Residents of the small towns of Adavale and Jundah, as well as multiple remote properties, were evacuated by air after the flooding cut off access by road.
Cattle farmer Geoff Lloyd, who was airlifted from his property on Thursday, told Nine Network television on Saturday that the losses in the region have been "horrific."
"I've been boating and living on that river for 30 years, and this is nothing we've ever seen," he said.
According to the industry body Meat and Livestock Australia, the area is one of Australia's most significant cattle farming regions, news agency reported.
Lloyd said that local helicopter pilots had been working to save the lives of people and cattle but were running low on aviation fuel.