Kangaroos are rescued from flood waters in NSW. Photo / Supplied.
The worst flood to ever hit the Western Australian coastal town of Carnarvon has left people stranded on their roofs as the damage bill rises into the millions.
Carnarvon is located about 900 kilometres north of Perth, at the mouth of the Gascoyne River on the Indian Ocean.
Residents were
alerted to the impending flood on Saturday and were warned to evacuate their homes as heavy rain pounded the region overnight.
An evacuation point was set up at the Carnarvon Civic Centre where about 85 people stayed overnight.
On Sunday, Shire president Dudley Maslen said it was the worst flood he had ever witnessed.
"Now that the sun has come up, it's not as scary as it was last night," he told AAP.
"But it's still a record flood, much bigger than the 1960 flood that was 7.61m deep.
"This flood has been about 7.7m for some time ... the hotel roof is only just peaking out of the water."
Mr Maslen said the deepest point was at Fishy Pool where the water level had risen to 15m.
He said homesteads that had never experienced much rain at all were also a metre deep in water.
"People are sitting on their roofs. You just don't think that will happen, it's something you see in cartoons, not real life," he said.
The shire president said a helicopter had been sent to rescue people who had been stranded on their roofs for 16 hours.
Mr Maslen said there would be "substantial" losses to crops in the region including mangoes and melons.
"There are also vegies that are covered in mildew and mud so they will have to be thrown out too," he said.
"It's going to be a lot of personal cost for everyone. It will be millions of dollars."
A Fire and Emergency Services Authority (FESA) spokeswoman said the heavy rain had forced the closure of parts of North West Coastal Highway on Saturday, between the Shark Bay turn off at Overlander and the Minilya Roadhouse.
She said those roads would remain closed on Sunday.
State Emergency Services (SES) volunteers and FESA staff will also remain in the area to help the residents.
The weather bureau says the rain is beginning to lessen.
- AAP
