Record flooding is causing havoc across the Kimberley, as residents in Fitzroy Crossing flee to higher ground while authorities warn many communities could be cut off for a week.
The Fitzroy River reached its highest level on record at Fitzroy Crossing Tuesday morning, hitting 15.09 metres at 10am — well above the previous record of 13.95m in 2002.
It is expected to peak at about 15.6m Tuesday night.
A spokesperson for Main Roads WA said the deluge of water caused significant damage to the Fitzroy River bridge, a key piece of infrastructure on the region's main artery, the Great Northern Highway.
"Preliminary examination of the bridge by Main Roads indicates a number of piers may be damaged," he said.
"A more detailed examination will be undertaken when flood waters recede.
"The major flood warning is still current for the Fitzroy River at Fitzroy Crossing and as upstream floodwaters arrive, we could see further rises through Tuesday afternoon."
Residents evacuated
Fitzroy Crossing resident Natalie Davey fled her house this morning and was shocked at how quickly the water rose.
"We're quite close to the river and the water kept coming up," she said.
"Our house is on a mound; we're about 50 metres away from the river bank.
"It's quite terrifying when you see that amount of water just rising.
"We've got creeks around us so we had water coming in from every single side."
Geoff Davis owns two properties near the Fitzroy Crossing townsite.
He said one had gone two metres underwater since the night before.
"The New South Wales experience … has resonated a fair bit with us," he said.
"You can hear the water gurgling underneath the house, and when you see your fridge start to float past you and you can almost reach out and touch it, it sparks the anxiety even though we are safe."
"There's that fear factor of how far will it come? Will it stop? What if it doesn't?"
Mr Davis said his son, Tristan, who owned a small landscaping business in town, had likely lost around $25,000 worth of equipment in the waters already.
Houses in Fitzroy Crossing are typically built for floodwaters with many on stilts, but some low-lying parts of the town are now underwater.
"There is 400 millimetres underneath my feet, and the Fitzroy River is flowing quite rapidly underneath our house," Mr Davis said.
Business owners count the cost
The Fitzroy Crossing Lodge has become a make-shift evacuation centre for some locals, with manager Kandula Herat currently helping house and evacuate more than a dozen guests.
"We've got a rescue boat on the way, and the boat is going to move some of the guests here to the [airport] and they'll be flying away to Broome," he said.
It is understood the airstrip in the town is accessible.
Mr Herat said the lodge would move to skeleton staff once the guests had been evacuated and would focus on assessing the damage.
"Clean-up wise, there's a lot to do," Mr Herat said.
"The trees are everywhere. There's lots of dead animals, lots of rubbish."
There have been reports of significant stock losses around the region, with some cattle seen attempting to cross the buckled Fitzroy Bridge throughout Tuesday.
Locked in by flooding
Blina Station manager Jamie Laurisson said he was currently locked in by the flooding, and bad weather was preventing him from assessing the damage.
He said while his station was relatively protected by high ground, he was concerned for nearby stations.
"We're worried about cattle at other places … there's potential for cattle to be washed away at other stations but there's not a lot we can do until we can get helicopters up and move cattle onto higher ground," Mr Laurisson said.
"We haven't had a break in the weather — once we realised this was serious and we were in for serious flooding, it was too wet to get helicopters up."
Blina Station, which is halfway between Fitzroy Crossing and Derby, has also been inundated with rain with nearby stations recording around 100mm in the last 24 hours.
Mr Laurisson said it was sad to hear of damage elsewhere.
"Homesteads are going under that have never been under before, I'm hearing potentially significant stock losses… it makes me feel pretty awful," he said.
Checking on relatives
Jamal McCarthy is checking on relatives by boat on the outlying properties around Fitzroy Crossing.
"We've been scrambling trying to check on people, and we've given a few people a lift into town already this morning," he said.
Mr McCarthy said he was out late into last night surveying the damage around town and was even able to drive his boat up to the town's main pub.
"The water is up to the main shopping centre steps, it's hard to describe, everyone's pretty on edge – and in my lifetime, I haven't seen anything like this up here," he said.
Huge rainfall totals swamp region
Western Australia's Department of Fire and Emergency Services has warned residents major flooding was expected to continue on Tuesday and Wednesday, with some communities expected to be isolated for a week.
Widespread rainfall totals of 200 to 500mm have fallen across the region since the start of the weekend, filling creeks and river systems that typically drain wet season monsoons.
Ex-tropical cyclone Ellie is moving west towards Broome and the slow-moving system is forecast to flood the Roebuck Plains and submerge the Willare bridge in coming days, which will cut off residents in the town of Derby.
The state government has declared an emergency for the shires of Broome and Derby West Kimberley, describing the flooding as a "one-in-100 year event".
It is understood emergency services will attempt to send aircraft to the town throughout Tuesday and Wednesday for supply drops and to evacuate people sheltering at the Fitzroy Lodge.
Flood rescue boats are being used to ferry residents and assess damage.
Water Corporation said its drinking water supply was being closely monitored and urged residents to avoid contact with floodwaters.
Some residents at Darlngunaya, a small community near the low-lying Geikie Gorge, have been evacuated.
The Department of Communities has set up an evacuation centre at Fitzroy Crossing Recreation Centre.
The Great Northern Highway remains closed from Willare through to Halls Creek, while numerous local roads are also shut.
