More than 100 homes have been inundated and dozens of people airlifted to safety as the flood emergency escalates in western Queensland.
It is now the biggest weather event many residents have ever experienced and there are fears stock losses will hit the hundreds of thousands.
“Levels of the Thompson River have hit about 8.6 metres and are expected to rise. That is higher than the 1974 level,” Premier David Crisafulli said
The red dirt town of Jundah, about 1300 kilometres from Brisbane with a population of just over 100 people, is a fresh epicentre for the emergency.
There are fears the floodwaters could wipe the town off the map.
“We have a community without power, without sewerage and we’ve got several evacuations where people have gone to higher ground at the golf course,” Crisafulli said.
Twenty-seven others were pulled from Adavale to shelter at the Quilpie Pub.
“The fact that everyone was able to get out of there safely is really one of those small rays of sunshine in an otherwise really dark time,” Crisafulli said.
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Fears remain for hundreds of thousands of cattle and sheep who have become trapped in floodwaters.
Vietnam War veteran Ted Robinson was being rescued when the helicopter he was in tumbled in treacherous conditions.
“The second one came in and picked me up,” Robinson said.
“Something happened and we didn’t get very far. We landed in the next house’s backyard.”
