Seven missing as wild weather and flooding rocks WA

Police are searching for seven people who are missing in the flooded outback of Western Australia.

Police are searching for seven people who are missing in the flooded outback of Western Australia.

The group, which includes four children and a 74-year-old man, had left Kalgoorlie-Boulder in two vehicles, aiming for a remote Aboriginal community on Sunday.

They have not been heard from since.

The region has been bombarded by severe rainfall, receiving hundreds of millimetres of rain in the past 48 hours which has caused significant flooding.

A stationary trough over eastern #WA is driving continued heavy rainfall through the region.
141.2mm reported at Eyre in the 24hrs to 9am on Sunday.
A Severe Weather Warning and Flood Watch are current for the area.
Find the latest warning information https://t.co/ungq5ciwNSpic.twitter.com/bEDvepxkGu

— Bureau of Meteorology, Western Australia (@BOM_WA) March 11, 2024

Heavy rain has meant the sealed road link to South Australia has been cut off.

A rescue mission is focused on finding the missing people who were travelling in a 1986 Toyota Landcruiser and a white Mitsubishi Triton utility.

The group were travelling to Tjuntjuntjara, approximately 600km east of Kalgoorlie-Boulder.

“Concerns are held for the occupants of these two vehicles due to serious weather conditions. It is unknown how much food and water the occupants have in their possession,” police said in a statement.

Police have attempted to reach the group but only managed to get as far as Zanthus before turning back, while a vehicle from Tjuntjuntjara made it 120 kilometres before having to return.

Police are looking for these two cars.

“There are a couple of vehicles out there somewhere that we don’t know where they are,” Jon Lark, CEO of Paupiyala Tjarutja Aboriginal Corporation, said via the ABC.

“Unfortunately we’ve lost contact with them, and with this extreme, one in a 25-year event really, we know that they’re somewhere in the middle.

“It’s about a 680-kilometre road out to Tjuntjuntjara. The police have been out as far as a place called Zanthus and they had to turn back.

“We’ve had a car go 120 kilometres from our end and had to turn back.

“We’re working very closely with WA Police to try and locate them. But at this stage, the cloud cover is stopping any sort of aerial search.

“People on the ground in the community are very concerned, particularly because there’s [children] and an old man out there.”

Flooding is also affecting northern WA communities, and a tropical low near Christmas Island might escalate into a cyclone.

The Trans-Australian Railway Line has been shut down due to flood damage, and parts of the Great Northern Highway in the north are also closed.

Meanwhile, the nation’s largest sheep station, Rawlinna Station, has been completely cut off.

“We’ve had about 200 millimetres here now and basically everything we have got is underwater,” station manager Jimmy Wood said. “I was wading waste-deep in my house.”

The state’s Department of Fire and Emergency Services has issued a warning to residents in Rawlinna, Cocklebiddy, Eyre and Carnegie to take shelter.

“This is not typical weather for southeastern Western Australia,” DFES said.

“If you live in parts of the Goldfields, Eucla and South Interior districts you should take action and stay safe with severe weather to come.”

Rawlinna Station has been cut off by the floods. Picture: Facebook.