By Abdullahi Lukman
Severe flooding across outback Queensland has cut off towns and killed or displaced thousands of livestock, authorities said, as Australia’s Prime Minister Anthony Albanese visited the disaster-hit region.
Days of heavy rain caused rivers to swell and inundate vast inland farming areas, home to some of Australia’s largest cattle stations.
State officials estimate more than 16,000 cattle and other livestock are dead or missing, while hundreds of kilometres of fencing have been destroyed.
Albanese flew to the remote mining town of Cloncurry, about 1,500 kilometres inland from Brisbane, to assess the damage. Several communities, including the small town of Winton, remain completely isolated by floodwaters.
Images shared online showed surviving cattle packed together on small hills rising above the water. Queensland authorities have used helicopters to drop fodder to stranded herds as access by road remains impossible in many areas.
Emergency services also carried out rescues amid the flooding. One man walked nearly 40 kilometres through knee-deep mud to seek help after his vehicle became bogged, before being located and airlifted to safety by a LifeFlight helicopter crew.
Researchers have long warned that climate change is increasing the frequency and intensity of extreme weather events in Australia.
More than 100,000 animals died in similar floods across outback Queensland in March and April last year, underscoring the region’s vulnerability despite its role as one of the country’s key cattle-fattening zones.
