Twenty-one people have been evacuated from the outback Queensland town of Urandangi ahead of a flooding event predicted to be the biggest the region has seen in more than 10 years.
On Friday, Queensland police airlifted evacuees to the neighbouring town of Mount Isa, about 200 kilometres away after water levels rose throughout the day and the local water supply was compromised.
"While we're used to flooding in this region, this scale of flooding is definitely not normal," emergency management coordinator for the Queensland Fire and Emergency Services (QFES) Mount Isa district Elliott Dunn said.
He said it was the biggest flooding event to impact the region since 2009.
"Heavy rainfall over the Barkly region further north, as a result of ex-tropical cyclone Ellie, is making its way down through the channel country resulting in this flooding," Mr Dunn said.
While the majority of people from Urandangi were evacuated, a handful of local business owners and council members remained in town.
"They will have supplies flown in for them as they wait out what will probably be about 10 days for the water to subside," he said.
Damaging winds and heavy rainfall are forecast for the rest of the weekend as a monsoon develops across Far North Queensland, impacting the Cape York Peninsula, Gulf of Carpentaria, and north-west Queensland, according to the Bureau of Meteorology.
"Next week, we can expect that floodwater to move further down to areas like Boulia," Mr Dunn said.
