A remote Western Australian town surrounded by a 100-year flood has become a refuge for hundreds of people evacuated from outlying communities.

January 4, 2023

A remote town surrounded by a once-in-a-century flood in Western Australia’s Kimberley region has become a refuge for hundreds of people evacuated from sodden Indigenous communities.

Only a few streets remain above the murky floodwaters in Fitzroy Crossing, where helicopters and boats are racing to evacuate residents from the rising water in outlying areas

Authorities and community groups had been working around the clock over the past two days to get people to safety on high ground, Jane Guthrie, manager at Fitzroy Workers Camp, said.

“There’s a lot of scared people around out in the communities. A lot of phone calls saying come and help us, we need help,” she said on Wednesday.

“It’s terrible, I feel really sorry for the communities, they must be terrified because it’s taken a while for the choppers to get here.”

The camp, on an embankment beside a raised section of the highway, is accommodating evacuees with high-care needs, with the road to the hospital and evacuation centre one of the few that isn’t submerged in the town of about 1200.

“The water is creeping up the highway, so it’s definitely still rising. Luckily it’s high and we are on a bit of an incline,” Ms Guthrie said.

“This could be once in a lifetime, this flooding, people who have lived here for a long time say they’ve never seen anything like this.”

The “little island” has also become a refuge for hundreds of wallabies, wild pigs, kangaroos, horses and cattle trying to escape the flood water.

“There’s a lot of dead animals and the cows are basically getting flushed down the river,” Ms Guthrie said.

“The wallabies have no where to go and there are wild pigs swanning around. Luckily we only have fresh water crocs.”

Weather conditions in the region are making it difficult for aircraft to operate and emergency services have warned further evacuations could take time.

The Great Northern Highway has been cut in both directions and part of a major bridge has been washed away, with fears a second bridge at Willare may be damaged.

“DFES is bringing in more aircraft to bolster our evacuation and resupply efforts as some communities may be isolated for at least a week,” the Department of Fire and Emergency Services said in a statement.

The federal government has also approved a WA request for Australian Defence Force aircraft and personnel to help evacuate residents.

It comes as the Bureau of Meteorology warns the Fitzroy River, which is holding steady in the town at a level of 15.73 metres, could rise further to peak at 15.8 metres later in the day, smashing previous records.

Major flooding is also likely downstream at Noonkanbah, where the Fitzroy River was at 12.26m on Wednesday, rising to 14 metres on Thursday.

Ex-tropical cyclone Ellie is behind the flooding, with between 200mm and 800 mm of rain recorded across the Kimberley over the past seven days.

The weather system is east of Broome and expected to move slower over the next 24 hours, before heading steadily east during Friday.

More than 200mm of rain fell at Broome Airport in the 24 hours to 10am on Wednesday, with more heavy rain likely west of Derby over the next day.

Localised intense rainfall is also possible closer to the Dampier Peninsula area., with the bureau warning totals of up to 250mm could be recorded.

Prime Minister Anthony Albanese tweeted a message of support to flood victims across the country on Wednesday.

“My thoughts are with all those families dealing with floodwaters today – from the Kimberley to Menindee to the SA Riverlands,” Mr Albanese tweeted.

“We’re working with state and local governments to help in whatever way we can.”

Major flooding continues in the western NSW town of Menindee, where the Darling River was holding steady at around 10.2m on Wednesday but could rise to 10.7m from Thursday, above the 1976 flood record of 10.47m.