Emergency service chief details ‘worst flooding Western Australia has had in its history’

Military helicopters airlifted hundreds of people from communities cut off by "once in a century" floods in Australia's northwest after severe weather system Ellie, a former tropical cyclone, brought heavy rain to the area.

The crisis in the Kimberley — a sparsely populated area in Western Australia state about the size of California.

"People in the Kimberley are experiencing a one-in-100-year flood event, the worst flooding Western Australia has had in its history," Western Australia Emergency Services Minister Stephen Dawson said on Sunday morning.

Water covered some areas "as far as the eye could see", he added.

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