Floods in Australia: PM promises quick financial assistance

After the floods of the century in north-west Australia, Prime Minister Albanese has promised swift financial aid to affected people. As the storm is now moving in, people on the east coast should prepare for heavy rain.

Australia’s Prime Minister Anthony Albanese, who visited the Kimberley floodplain in northwest Australia, has promised quick financial assistance. Albanese interrupted his vacation to fly to the disaster area to get an idea of ​​the situation.

“We know the bill will be huge and my government is committed to working with the Western Australian government to provide all the support we can,” the prime minister said.

Heaviest rainfall in 100 years

Days of heavy rains have turned dozens of villages and towns in the region into large lakes, popular with tourists. Temporarily cut off from the outside world, the community of Fitzroy Crossing was hit hard. Many residents were evacuated by helicopter. Aid workers also delivered food to the survivors by helicopter.

Although rains have eased recently, some cities may still be cut off from the outside world for a few more days. The region’s emergency services minister, Stephen Dawson, said: “We haven’t seen rain like this for at least 100 years. It’s shocking how high the water is.”

Parts of the Great Northern Highway, which links the metropolis of Perth to the northern port city of Windham, are still impassable. Albanese stressed that substantial investments in repair work are necessary here. “It’s the main artery connecting the state of Western Australia to the north, which is the whole of the Northern Territory.”

Heavy rain is expected on the east coast

Meteorologists said the heavy rains were the offshoots of Tropical Cyclone Ellie, which made landfall two weeks ago. The storm has been slowly exiting Western Australia since last week. Now it makes its way up the east coast to Queensland. Weather forecasters have also warned of heavy rains there.

It is summer in Australia. Meteorologists have recently warned of heatwaves in several areas, including potential bushfires in the state of Victoria or the Northern Territory.