Broome and Derby are likely to be cut off by a once-in-a-century flooding in Western Australia’s Kimberley region, as inland evacuations continue.

January 5, 2023

Residents in Broome and Derby have been warned their towns are likely to be cut off by flooding, as authorities continue to evacuate people from inland towns in Western Australia’s Kimberley region.

Fitzroy Crossing and dozens of Indigenous communities have already been hit by record flooding and WA’s only road transport route to the north of the state is likely to be cut for months after a major bridge suffered significant damage.

“People are suffering … people are scared,” WA Emergency Services Minister Stephen Dawson said.

Fitzroy Crossing’s supermarket and homes have been inundated and only a few of the town’s streets remain above the murky floodwaters, with people, livestock and wildlife clambering for the remaining dry ground.

The town’s evacuation centre is at capacity, as authorities commandeer boats and helicopters to transport people to safety in the town of about 1200.

Two Australian Defence Force C-130 Hercules aircraft that can carry 80 passengers and a C-27 have also been deployed to the region to join the fleet of aircraft carrying out evacuations and deliveries of urgent supplies.

The bureau on Wednesday warned the Fitzroy River was still rising at the town and likely to peak at 15.8 metres later in the day, smashing records.

About 60,000 cubic metres of water per second is flowing down the swollen waterway, that snakes it way across the Kimberley to the coast at Derby, north of Broome.

“It’s one the highest flow rates we’ve ever seen in an Australian river,” meteorologist James Ashley said.

“The amount of water moving down the Fitzroy River in a day is about what Perth uses water-wise in 20 years.”

It comes as authorities warn people in Broome and Derby that roads into the towns could be flooded as early as Thursday morning, with ex-tropical cyclone Ellie expected to dump up to 200mm of rain in the area.

The weather system is hovering east of Broome, where it was forecast to remain before moving slowly east back across the Kimberley towards the Northern Territory at the weekend.

Mr Dawson said pastoralists and livestock had also been impacted significantly by the flooding.

“Until the floodwaters start to recede it won’t be possible to undertake a full assessment of damage and stock losses in the region,” he said.

“This is very distressing for the community.”

Mr Dawson said authorities were working on a plan to transport food and other supplies to the north of the state after the flooding subsides.

He said WA’s biosecurity rules and the flood-damaged Fitzroy Bridge, which “hasn’t collapsed yet”, could necessitate an ongoing airlift to brings goods from the south.

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.