Burketown pub providing a breath of fresh air for the flooded town

The country pub in Burketown is doing all it can to help the flooded Gulf of Carpentaria community who have been impacted by the worst flood in a decade.

Burketown Pub has become a refuge for families in the flooded Gulf of Carpentaria community who have been impacted by the worst flood in a decade.

More than 40 properties were flooded with water at the weekend with 90 people evacuated on Sunday.

Manager Melissa Looker said although homes were waist-deep with water, the pub had become a safe haven for those still in the community.

Melissa Looker, manager at Burketown Pub. Photo: Melissa Looker

Burketown Pub posted footage of the flooding throughout it's hometown on Facebook. Picture: supplied

“There aren’t many people in the town and since the road closures in December, it’s been a really quiet season,” she said.

“It’s always nice to see people come in for food or a drink and gather in the afternoon.”

Ms Looker said the food supplies coming into Burketown on Tuesday would provide much-needed relief.

“It’s been a really rough season,” she said.

“We’ve been cut off since December. The Doomadgee community can’t reach us because of the amount of rainfall we’ve had, and most roads in and out of Burketown are closed.

“It’s been a very long season and the supplies will be a huge help.”

Burketown Pub on a sunny day before the rainfall. Picture: Facebook.

At the moment the pub is providing residency to four people and their pets who have had to leave their homes.

“I feel quite detached because I haven’t seen how bad the flooding has got myself,” she said.

“It’s nice to provide a safe dry place for these people to be.”

The pub also provided free food to rangers last week “who are out there working around the clock to keep our community safe”.

Burketown Pub posted footage of the flooding throughout it's hometown on Facebook. Picture: supplied

Ms Looker said although many customers were hurting as a result of the flooding, their spirits had not been defeated.

“Unfortunately, most of us have been through it before,” she said.

“We (the pub) are doing whatever we can to help the community.”

One of the workers at the pub lived in a home that belonged to his family for generations.

“Their home has been untouched by water forever, but now it’s knee-deep,” she said.

“He’s coming and going like everyone else just doing what they can to save what’s left.”

Although water levels peaked on Sunday, the Bureau of Meteorology is predicting showers to return from Saturday.

Originally published as Burketown pub providing a breath of fresh air for the flooded town