People in the Kimberley are waiting anxiously as major evacuations from record-breaking floods have been delayed due to severe weather, with no confirmation of when stranded residents will be airlifted from Fitzroy Crossing.
The head of WA's emergency services, Darren Klemm, has labelled the situation "the worst flooding event our state has ever seen", with authorities frantically working to rescue impacted residents.
Ex-tropical cyclone Ellie has battered north-west Australia over the past week, with the Fitzroy River reaching record-breaking levels.
This has led to significant damage to properties and businesses in Fitzroy Crossing, about five hours east of Broome, with residents being forced into emergency evacuation centres as a result.
The Defence Force has been deployed to assist in evacuations, with DFES taking some vulnerable people from Central Kimberley communities such as Noonkanbah and Bungardi to Broome and Derby on Thursday.
However, a C-130 Hercules aircraft intended to evacuate larger numbers of people had to be diverted to Port Hedland after not being able to land in Broome due to bad weather.
Emergency Services Minister Stephen Dawson said major evacuations would take place from Fitzroy Crossing once it was safe to do so — but did not commit to a time frame.
"The priority is evacuation, relocation and resupply," he said.
"The Fitzroy airstrip is being cleared and will be able to receive some aircraft for the resupply and relocation efforts."
Minister Dawson said 900 kilograms of food had been delivered to Fitzroy Crossing, with another 3,000kg due to arrive later today.
"Two fixed-wing aircraft are dedicated to start resupply operations out of Broome and onto the ground at Fitzroy Crossing as soon as the weather permits," he said.
"Marra Worra Worra has helped by transferring food and frozen food — they are also providing meals and bedding in the region."
Fitzroy Crossing residents in shock
Meanwhile, Fitzroy Crossing residents are waiting anxiously to see when they will be evacuated, with floodwaters starting to recede.
The Fitzroy River peaked at a record 15.81m at the town on Wednesday afternoon but has dropped slowly over the past 24 hours to Friday.
A community meeting was held Thursday night, with residents being briefed by authorities on the latest available information.
However, there is some frustration among residents at the supply of food and other essentials, with uncertainty over whether they will be evacuated, and when.
Andrea Myers said the community was still coming to terms with the unprecedented flooding event.
"I think there is still some shock — this has never happened before," she said.
"We've never seen certain buildings go under water. Now the anxiety is beginning to creep in, people are anxious to get out to see what the damage is."
Fitzroy Crossing resident Patrick Davies said overcrowding was a concern as people from remote communities sought refuge in the town.
"Some of the families that have been relocated to Fitzroy Crossing have gone and stayed with family that live in town," he said.
"Overcrowding was an issue before the flood; it'd be even more of an issue now in some houses.
"We're all stuck on this island."
Foundation for Indigenous Sustainable Health chief executive Mark Anderson said emergency flights with goods were urgently needed.
"A great example is dog food. We've got six pallets of dog food coming from Perth all the way up here," he said.
"Flights for critical food items started mid-morning with the second one going out this afternoon and the non-critical food items hopefully later this afternoon."
Weather system moves inland
With the tropical low moving west earlier in the week and being centred on Broome, the West Kimberley town and neighbouring Derby have experienced heavy rainfall in recent days.
This has led to the closure of the Great Northern Highway between the two towns, and Broome International Airport grounded flights in midweek.
However, on Friday morning the tropical low moved inland, giving both towns a respite from intense downpours and damaging winds.
Airport chief executive Craig Shaw said commercial flights had been able to restart from the town today.
The Great Northern Highway south of Broome, which is essential for the provision of supplies to the tourist town, was closed on Friday morning.
