Sydney, Australia, Dec 20 (EFE).- Thirty-five Australian communities remained isolated Wednesday in northern Queensland due to flooding caused by Cyclone Jasper, which made landfall a week ago.
A car inundated with water nearby the Barron River in Cairns, Australia, 16 December 2023. EFE-EPA FILE/JOSHUA PRIETO AUSTRALIA AND NEW ZEALAND OUT
Australian authorities are also searching for an 85-year-old man who has been missing since Sunday, Queensland Premier Steven Miles said at a press conference in the far northern city of Cairns, which has been strongly affected by floods.
Miles also said that Queensland Police have been able to confirm that there are no people seriously injured in some of the remote communities that are isolated by flooding, while warning that many roads remain closed.
The authorities were to continue Wednesday with the air evacuations of around 300 residents of the Wujal Wujal aboriginal community, adjacent to the area where Cyclone Jasper made landfall last Wednesday, then category 2 and that caused powerful storms in its wake.
As of Wednesday morning, 97 people had been transferred to the city of Cooktown, about 72 kilometers north of Wujal Wujal, in two helicopters of the Australian Defense Forces, which deployed 150 soldiers.
In other parts of far northern Queensland, such as the tourist city of Cairns, clean-up, assessment and recovery efforts have begun following the flooding that destroyed roads, damaged homes and downed trees.
Damage assessments carried out as of Tuesday afternoon by the Queensland Fire and Emergency Services indicate that one house has been destroyed and 57 have been severely damaged, while another 187 and 226 homes were moderately and slightly damaged, respectively.
Cyclones are not common in Australia, but from time to time one hits the north of the country, such as the category five Cyclone Yasi, which devastated Queensland in February 2011 and left one dead amid extensive damage. EFE
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