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SYDNEY, Jan 16 . The Australian state of Queensland’s central and northern regions are facing days of severe weather emergency, with some primary transport corridors being cut off at tourist spots.
Australia’s Bureau of Meteorology (BOM) warned on Monday that locally intense rainfall which may lead to dangerous and life-threatening flash flooding is possible over parts of the central Queensland coast and the northeast tourist attraction Whitsundays, where the Great Barrier Reef’s famed Heart Reef is located.
According to local television channel Nine News on Monday, all inbound flights have been canceled at Whitsunday Coast Airport after roads in and out of the gateway Airlie Beach were inundated.
Major roads such as the Bruce Highway have also been cut off, forcing dozens of truckies and motorists to pull over to the side of the road and wait, said Nine News.
Currently, there are hundreds of road closure notices remaining in place due to the risk of flood, including several high priority alerts related to land slips, said Queensland’s Department of Transport and Main Roads.
The BOM predicted that rain and thunderstorms will continue until Wednesday around the central coast of Queensland. Daily rainfall totals are likely to exceed 200 mm, with isolated totals up to 400 mm possible.
