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Residents of Queensland Town Urged to Leave as Floodwaters Surge

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All residents in Burketown, Queensland, were urged to evacuate the town on March 11, as a record-breaking floods swept through the Australian region.

Burke Shire Council said in a statement that final evacuation flights would be carried out on Saturday. Locals were told to arrive at the muster point in town no later than 3:30 pm.

Power was set to be cut off to the community on Saturday and sewerage systems had been compromised, Queensland Police said in a Facebook post.

According to the Bureau of Meteorology, at least 65 millimetres of rain fell across the region in the 48 hours to 9 am on Saturday, prompting a flood warning for the Nicholson and Leichhardt Rivers.

The BOM also said that river levels exceeded the previous March 2011 flood record of 6.78 meters (22.2 feet), with a peak expected on Sunday. Credit: Queensland Police Service via Storyful

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