Efforts to clean up and repair damage in Western Australia have been hampered
as floodwaters have begun to decline in the Kimberley region, the magnitude and extent of the damage begins to emerge.
An airstrip in the area remains' buried 'by water — to a large extent — as are the roads over 50 km around Fitzroy Crossing, which has suffered the biggest flood damage caused by tropical cyclone Ellie.
As a result, the transportation of supplies remains particularly difficult.
Only helicopters and small aircraft can get there. Many residents were forced to spend the night in makeshift accommodation.
How extensive the damage is
Western Australian Prime Minister Mark McGowan has spoken of widespread damage to the Kimberley region's infrastructure network.
He even described the damage to roads and bridges' unprecedented ', saying it would take months to restore;
the Fitzroy River bridge has been almost completely destroyed. Local residents described the image of the bridge as 'as if it had been hit by a bomb'.
The bridge is part of the only asphalt road that connects Broome with the rest of the Kimberley area and the Northern Territory.
Authorities believe other bridges have been damaged — making it difficult to transport supplies, repairing damage and returning residents.
Federal Emergency Minister Murray Wyatt said that “out of the air as you approach Broome and then head to Fitzroy Crossing, you see water everywhere — as far as the eye can see, you see water"
