'Once in a century' flood cuts off communities in northwestern Australia

A view of flooding in Fitzroy Crossing, Australia January 3, 2023 in this picture obtained from social media. Callum Lamond/via REUTERS

SYDNEY (Reuters) -Military helicopters airlifted hundreds of people from communities cut off by "once in a century" floods in Australia's northwest, an official leading relief efforts said on Sunday, noting water covered some places "as far as the eye could see".

The crisis in the Kimberley - an sparsely populated area in Western Australia state about the size of California - was sparked last week by severe weather system Ellie, a former tropical cyclone that brought heavy rain.