SYDNEY: Five people were rescued, and patients have been evacuated from a hospital amid major flooding in the Australian state of Queensland and the neighbouring Northern Territory (NT).
Flood warnings were in place for rivers and catchments across most of Queensland as of Saturday morning due to heavy rainfall from a slow-moving tropical storm that made landfall on the state's northeast coast on Friday afternoon local time.
The Bureau of Meteorology (BoM) said the tropical low was moving west across central Queensland on Saturday and is forecast to bring heavy rainfall that may lead to flash flooding.
The Australian Broadcasting Corporation reported that five people were rescued from floodwaters in central Queensland overnight, including three people who were found clinging to a tree in fast-moving waters after escaping a stranded vehicle.