Heavy Rains Cause Significant Damage to Railway Tracks in Outback Region

An expansive area stretching from the top of the Northern Territory through Queensland and New South Wales, down to the agricultural heartlands of South Australia, is now under flood watch. This region, comparable in size to Greenland, is facing severe weather conditions.

In an unexpected deluge, over 100mm of rain drenched the Flinders and north-west pastoral regions of South Australia within a mere 24 hours. This sudden downpour has resulted in the most severe flooding seen in years.

The Trans-Australian Railway, a crucial freight artery linking Perth to Adelaide and extending to the eastern states, has also been impacted. This line, which serves as a vital route for the Indian-Pacific train, is expected to remain closed for more than a week as authorities work to restore the rail corridor.

The cause of this unusual weather pattern is a significant, humid low-pressure system positioned over the central Northern Territory. This system is channeling rain from the tropical north, affecting regions that are typically among Australia’s driest.

A large, humid low-pressure system sitting across the centre of the Northern Territory is responsible for drawing rainfall from the tropical north down across what is typically among the driest parts of Australia.

More intense rainfall is expected again tomorrow.

The Bureau of Meteorology has issued a warning for damaging wind gusts throughout Victoria and Tasmania, while there’s a flash flooding warning in place for a region in inland New South Wales, Northern Territory, Queensland and South Australia.

While many drought-affected farmers are welcoming the long-anticipated rain, those in the hardest-hit areas are being warned of flash flooding posing a risk to livestock.

“There is the potential for travel to be disrupted and for roads to be cut off and even the potential for communities to be isolated,” the Bureau of Meteorology said in an update yesterday.

In an area of South Australia between Wilmington, Hawker and Woomera, as much as 120mm fell in just six hours, while Arkaba in the Flinders region was hit with 100mm yesterday.

In Queensland, where communities have already been hit by weeks of heavy rainfall, the risk of severe flooding is greater as catchments remain swollen and grounds saturated, the BoM warns.

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