Thousands of Australians’ Christmas travel plans have been thrown into disarray after a major airport was forced to close due to flood levels not seen in the country for 45 years.
Cairns Airport has been closed for the second time in four days after more than 600mm of rain fell in far north Queensland in the wake of ex-tropical cyclone Jasper.
This popular holiday spot is now an “island” as floodwaters cut off roads and forced hundreds of residents and tourists to evacuate.
Several hotels in Cairns are being used as evacuation centers for people displaced by floodwaters.
Cairns Airport remains closed on Monday morning, and the situation will be assessed later that day.
More heavy rain is expected to fall on the city on Monday.
Cairns Airport has been forced to close due to severe flooding, with unusual images showing several planes submerged in a spiraling torrent on the runway
“Cairns is like an island,” Tropical Far North Queensland Tourism CEO Mark Olsen told the Today show.
“Yesterday was certainly a day in the history books, with record rainfall in the catchment.
“Our focus at the moment is keeping the community safe – from Cairns, we cannot travel north to our friends in the Douglas Shire, our northern beaches are cut off, we are cut off on the highway to the south and both routes to the plains are also cut off at the moment.
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