Flooding hits Western Australia

Unseasonal rain has hit northwestern Australia over the last few days, triggering flooding across the dry landscape.

A weather system is stretching across the northern parts of Western Australia, through the Northern Territory and into South Australia.

Rain has fallen across many parts of the country, with the heaviest rain in the northwest.

Port Hedland reported 73mm of rain in a 24 hour period. This is enough to cause flooding anywhere in the world, and in northern Western Australia this is particularly surprising because this is typically the driest part of the year.

This takes the total rain seen in the town so far this month to 99mm, far exceeding the average expected in the entire month, of just 21mm.

The wet start to June follows an equally soggy May, which was Port Hedland’s wettest for more than a decade.

The rainfall has been boosted by the warm waters of the Indian Ocean, which promises even more rain across the region over the next few days.