Crucial highway cut off as Australian floods worsen

Australian authorities are scrambling to help isolated communities in Queensland after a flooding emergency forced thousands of evacuations, cut power to homes and washed away sections of a vital highway.

The flooding has claimed a woman’s life and caused havoc across the state’s north, with residents in Townsville, Ingham, and Cardwell among the hardest hit.

“Record” downpours are set to continue, authorities say, with parts of the region already experiencing almost 1.3m (4.2ft) of rain since Saturday, causing rivers and reservoirs to overflow.

Prime Minister Anthony Albanese – who was briefed about the response efforts on Monday – said that the disaster had brought out “the best of Australians”.

Efforts to assist the hardest-hit areas have been hindered by flood damage to parts of the Bruce Highway – the main thoroughfare stretching 1,673km (1039 miles) from the state’s south.

This included the partial collapse of a bridge that could add an extra 700km to driving routes and slow down the delivery of critical supplies, the Queensland Trucking Association told the Australian broadcaster ABC.

Meteorologists say these could be the worst floods in the region in more than 60 years. BBC

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