SYDNEY, March 10 (Xinhua) -- An emergency warning has been issued for major flooding in the eastern Australian city of Bundaberg following days of torrential rainfall.
The police service in the state of Queensland said on Tuesday morning that people in north, south, east and central Bundaberg should prepare to evacuate after the Bureau of Meteorology (BoM) issued a major flood warning for the Burnett River that flows through the city.
The BoM warning issued on Tuesday morning local time said that the Burnett River at Bundaberg, 300 km north of Brisbane, is likely to exceed its major flood level of 7.0 meters on Tuesday afternoon.
It said that the river is expected to peak around 7.60 meters from Tuesday evening into Wednesday, just below the December 2010 level of 7.92 meters that resulted in the evacuation of hundreds of homes.
Speaking in Canberra, Prime Minister Anthony Albanese urged people in the path of a slow-moving tropical storm in the region to prioritize their safety by following emergency warnings and avoiding floodwaters.
Bundaberg had a population of 52,370 people at the time of the last national census in 2021. ■