Emergency relief funding has been made available to assist with recovery efforts following Western Australia's worst-ever floods, which have caused vast swathes of land to virtually become an inland ocean.
Prime Minister Anthony Albanese and West Australian Premier Mark McGowan visited flood-affected communities in the Kimberley on Monday, alongside other ministers, touring damaged areas, and meeting with locals, evacuees, emergency service workers and volunteers.
Speaking in Broome, which was lashed by torrential rain and damaging winds just days ago, Mr Albanese said there had been "massive infrastructure damage".
"We've seen people who have lost just about everything as a result of this one-in-100 year flood," he said.
"I believe this community was incredibly resilient. They're positive about the future. They want to work together. And there was a real sense of community and belonging."
Flood-affected communities can access emergency relief funding through the West Australian Department of Communities.
Emergency Management Minister Murray Watt said about $200 could be accessed per person, up to about $800 per household.
"The emergency assistance that's been announced today is intended as immediate," Mr Watt said.
"There's also assistance for things like house repairs, household contents, and in some cases that can be worth up to $10,000 per household," he said.
The flood plains of the Fitzroy River were overwhelmed with intense rainfall and damaging winds brought on by former tropical cyclone Ellie last week.
The severe weather event caused WA's worst-ever flooding, with the Fitzroy River peaking at a record 15.8 metres on Wednesday.
Water levels have receded around Fitzroy Crossing after the former tropical cyclone travelled back into the Northern Territory over the weekend.
However, flooding continues to reach new peaks downstream of the Fitzroy River.
Premier warns of long road to recovery
Mr McGowan said an estimated 100 homes had been damaged by the floods, and warned getting residents back into flood-impacted properties would be a "long and difficult process" due to a shortage of accommodation and other logistics.
"The people who come in – the grader drivers, and the cement mixers, and the construction workers and so forth – need somewhere to stay as well," he said.
While Mr McGowan said it was a priority for major road connections, such as the bridge into Fitzroy Crossing to be fixed, it could take months for construction to even begin.
"The wet season is not over. So, there could still be further floods. And so that will take some months to actually get through the wet season before any such work could even take place."
The West Australian government is considering housing options for workers, including offers for temporary accommodation from the University of Notre Dame, and Rio Tinto.
Bridge needs to be rebuilt
Damage to the only bridge across the Fitzroy River at Fitzroy Crossing has become apparent as the unprecedented floodwaters have begun to recede.
Authorities believe the Minnie and Cockatoo bridges near the Willare crossing, where floodwaters are now peaking between Derby and Broome, have also been damaged.
"The damage to the roads and bridges is extraordinary and will take a long time to fix," Mr McGowan said.
"This is an issue we're going to have to manage for months, if not longer."
An alternate crossing at Fitzroy — an old floodway — is unlikely to be assessed and activated until the waters recede and the wet season ends due to the possibility of further floods and weather events.
"The bridge will have to be rebuilt, and any work can't commence until after the wet season," Mr McGowan said.
"This is a massive logistical exercise and will take a long period of time."
With Great Northern Highway the only sealed supply route through the Kimberley, the rebuild has implications for national freight and logistics, down to the ability of residents to return home.
Operation Flood Assist
Mr Albanese said Australian Defence Force personnel were actively assisting with relocation, supply deliveries, and transporting emergency services personnel.
"By tomorrow (Tuesday), there will be 200 ADF personnel on the ground making a difference," he said.
The Australian Defence Force has deployed transport aircraft and helicopters to assist flood-affected communities in the Kimberley region.
Three Royal Australian Air Force transport aircraft have been activated. Five Australian Army helicopters departed Queensland on the weekend and are set to begin operating in the Kimberley region from Thursday.
'Operation Flood Assist 23-1' has so far primarily assisted with relocating people from isolated communities, delivering food and medical supplies, and transporting emergency services personnel.
'Dead animals everywhere'
With residents also facing unimaginable clean-up and repair bills, the premier said there would be no ceiling on the rescue and rebuild funding on offer.
"It's going to cost many millions of dollars, but we're up for the challenge," Mr McGowan said.
"[The cost] is whatever's required, that's what you do in natural disasters."
He said the immediate priority was getting evacuated residents back to their homes and communities but that could take time.
"Obviously people want to come home," Mr McGowan said.
"As soon as we can get the houses to a habitable state, we'll get those people back.
"But there's lots of complications. There are lots of mosquitoes. When we walked over one of the bridges, there were dead animals everywhere.
"We've got to make sure the place is cleaned up and habitable before we get people back."
Huge stock losses expected
Kimberley Pilbara Cattlemen's Association chairman Jak Andrews said stock losses were likely to be devastating.
"Optimistically everyone maybe hoped it would be in the hundreds initially ... it's probably going to be in the tens of thousands once this has concluded."
"There'll be thousands of kilometres of fencing that I imagine won't be standing anymore.
"We're in the cold light of day and it's probably as bad I thought it could be.
"People are going to be financially hurting, and there'll also be the emotional toll as well."
Mr Andrews said ongoing and coordinated emergency relief would be an essential lifeline for many.
"The isolation is real with the roads that are cut, so we're going to have to think outside the square a little bit in how we work through the recovery phase," he said.
"We'll need ongoing government support to continue to rebuild because this is not going to be a couple of days, weeks or even months.
"It could be years before people are back up and operating as they were."
Streets littered with debris
Mark Williamson has lived in the West Kimberley since 1964, and is now based at Camballin, 300 kilometres east of Broome.
He said while residents have not been allowed back to their homes due to safety concerns, the extent of the damage was becoming clear.
"The state of the houses that have been affected is pretty devastating," he said.
"Down the streets there's plenty of personal gear along the roads, even the livestock dead around the place."
Mr Williamson said communities needed immediate support on the ground.
"DFES and shire representatives promised us yesterday food drops and water because we're not meant to be showering or drinking the local water, but that never happened," he said.
"What we need, once everything dries out, would be a few trucks to get rid of our rubbish because our local rubbish pit is full up with water.
"[We need] rubbish trucks, tippers to load the furniture on to get rid of the contaminated materials around the town."
Opposition warns against repeating mistakes
The West Australian opposition has urged the government to learn from past disaster recovery efforts in order to provide more timely assistance to affected communities.
"There is an astronomical task at hand to ensure that those affected do not suffer extended periods of displacement and are able to rebuild quickly," the opposition's emergency services spokesman Martin Aldridge said.
"The McGowan Labor government cannot make the same mistakes as they did during the Cyclone Seroja Recovery, where recovery funding has not hit the ground and hundreds are still waiting on assistance to rebuild their homes."
Mr Aldridge highlighted how accommodation and skills shortages slowed recovery efforts after Cyclone Seroja hit Western Australia's Midwest region in 2021.
"One of the key challenges following Seroja, which the government is still yet to address, has been establishing key worker accommodation in the region … the remoteness of the Kimberley means these challenges will be amplified ten-fold," he said.
