Eastern Australia Faces Once-in-a-Century Floods and Prepares for Additional Rain, Reports Reuters

By Will Ziebell

MELBOURNE – The eastern Australian state of Queensland is facing severe flooding, described as a once-in-a-century event, as the nation’s weather bureau warned on Saturday of impending heavy rain in the region.

Days of relentless monsoon rains have already prompted evacuations in areas surrounding the coastal city of Townsville in north Queensland, according to a representative from the Bureau of Meteorology. Adam Blazak, a forecaster, mentioned that while the exact number of evacuees is not available, some regions have already reached "major" flood levels.

"This monsoonal burst has been ongoing for over a week and is expected to continue for several more days," Blazak explained. Rainfall between 150 mm and 200 mm is anticipated across Townsville on Saturday, which is equivalent to about a month’s typical rainfall.

Local authorities issued multiple flood warnings on Saturday morning, advising residents to avoid road travel and consider relocating to higher ground if conditions deteriorate further.

North Queensland is home to substantial reserves of zinc, silver, lead, and iron ore, with Townsville serving as a key processing hub for the region’s base metals.

In a contrasting environmental crisis, wildfires in Tasmania, a southern island state, have scorched nearly 190,000 hectares of land, according to fire officials. Chris Arnold, chief officer of the Tasmania Fire Service, stated that almost 600 personnel are actively working to contain the fires, some of which have been burning for weeks and have resulted in the destruction of homes.

Arnold noted that while recent days have provided favorable conditions for firefighting efforts, some communities in parts of Tasmania remain at risk as forecasted hot and dry weather could escalate bushfires once again.

Australia recently experienced its hottest month on record in January, with elevated temperatures expected to persist through April. This extreme weather has led to power outages in certain areas and has driven electricity prices higher.