Sydney: A person died on Sunday in the Australian state of North Queensland in floods, the authorities announced, urging thousands of people to move to higher land due to torrential rains.
The Queensland authorities said the major floods were underway in Coastal Hinchinbrook Shire, a locality of around 11,000 people located around 500 km (310 miles) north of the Brisbane state capital. Several suburbs of the neighboring town of Townsville have also been affected, the authorities said.
Northern Queensland has large zinc reserves as well as major deposits of silver, lead, copper and iron ore, with Townsville a large treatment center for basic metals in the region. In 2019, serious floods in the region disrupted the rail and zinc rail expeditions and damaged thousands of properties.
“Residents of the low zones should collect their evacuation kit and move to a safe place on higher ground. This situation can constitute a threat to life and goods,” said the emergency management authorities on Sunday morning regional.
The floods were triggered by heavy rain from a low pressure system rich in tropical humidity, said the meteorological forecastist for Australia on his website, adding that the 24 -hour precipitation totals were probably up at 300 mm (11.8 inches).
“The potential for heavy and locally intense precipitation and harmful winds could continue at the beginning of next week, subject to the strength and position of the trough and low,” he said.
Frequent floods have struck eastern Australia in recent years, especially floods “once over a century” which flooded the North neighboring territory in January 2023 during a multi -year meteorological event of the Nina.
