Incredible scenes as Aussie outback goes under water
Workers at the country's largest operating sheep farm have been forced to escape without their flock but other animals were a little luckier.
Parts of the Aussie outback have been drenched in a year's worth of rain in only a matter of days, flooding farmland and closing key transport routes that connect Western Australia to the rest of the country.
The country's largest operating sheep station in Rawlinna — situated in Western Australia's southeast — shared images of the aftermath of the flooding online, showing workers saving animals on kayaks while rooms with heavy machinery filled with water. Debris can be seen floating around the work rooms with "water in the petrol tanks" and the farmland surrounding the station is covered in a layer of murky floodwater.
Those at the station had to flee without the sheep but staff feel confident "Rawlinna sheep are not silly" and are "hopeful" the animals have sought high ground.
"As soon as we can get back in the air we’ll be out there to check on them," Rawlinna Station wrote.
"The homestead is almost completely under water but it’s also worth mentioning that it’s built on the edge of a depression, so the water was bound to pool there (we just never imagined we’d get this much!)."
Chaos caused by flooding
Amid the deluge, there are serious concerns for a missing family of seven last seen in flooded Kalgoorlie Boulder on Sunday. It is believed they were travelling in two vehicles together. A search continued for the missing family on Wednesday.
What's more, the main road connecting Western Australia with South Australia, the Eyre Highway, was closed alongside the Trans-Australia Railway line after floodwaters inundated parts of the transport routes.
The Eyre weather station recording the intense rainfall has already exceeded its annual average within four days after 325 millimetres of rain fell in the area — with the annual average being 315.9 millimetres.
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WA's Department of Fire and Emergency Services warned residents in Rawlinna, Carnegie, Cocklebiddy, Eyre and Zanthus to seek shelter, stand clear of windows and refrain from driving through floodwaters.
"If you live in parts of the Goldfields, Eucla and South Interior districts you should take action and stay safe with severe weather to come," the department advised. "This is not typical weather for southeastern Western Australia."
with AAP
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