SYDNEY — Thousands of people have been evacuated from their homes amid widespread severe flooding in northern Australia.
Authorities in the northeastern state of Queensland on Monday warned residents of the state's tropical north to expect further flooding following days of torrential rainfall.
Thousands of people have been ordered to evacuate from the city of Townsville, over 1,000 km north of the state capital of Brisbane, and from surrounding towns, reports Xinhua news agency.
The region has received over one meter of rainfall over three days, with up to 300 millimetres forecast for Monday by the Bureau of Meteorology.
State Premier David Crisafulli said on Monday morning that modelling shows the flooding has not yet peaked, urging residents of a stretch of coast over 600 km long between the cities of Mackay and Cairns to take heed of emergency warnings.
He said that authorities are focused on protecting lives before turning their attention to recovery efforts.
The State Emergency Service (SES) reported receiving almost 400 calls for assistance on Sunday, one-quarter of which were related to water entering properties.
A bridge on the Bruce Highway, a major road connecting northern Queensland to Brisbane, has collapsed just north of Townsville, cutting off several towns.
The Mayor of Hinchinbrook town, Ramon Jayo, told Australian Broadcasting Corporation television that the collapse was a "disaster" for the town, which will likely rely on supplies arriving by helicopter as it faces its worst flooding since the 1960s.
As of Monday morning local time, about 10,000 properties in the region were without electricity, with those affected told to prepare for prolonged outages.
Police in Townsville have increased patrols in evacuated parts of the city to protect properties from potential looting.
The Townsville Airport reopened on Monday, but the city remains cut off by road.
The federal government has deployed Australian Defence Force helicopters to help monitor the flooding.