Kimberley floods: Cain Andrews views the once in a hundred year event from the air

The cabin shuddered as the tiny propeller plane hurtled down the Broome International Airport runway. To our right three army helicopters sat on the tarmac, with three large military planes including a Hercules C-130 — all there in response to the floods that had engulfed the Kimberley. As soon as our plane gained altitude, the devastation was apparent. The Roebuck Plains were overrun by floodwaters as far as the eye could see and the red pindan dirt was now murky brown water. It was easy to forget we were over the iconic Kimberley landscape, known for its endless termite mounds and sweeping plains, as the country had been turned into a swamp. The Great Northern Highway was barely visible under the floodwaters as we followed it from the air towards Derby, going deeper into the worst-affected areas. We approached Willare Bridge just after floodwaters had reached their peak. The bridge was still intact despite being underwater hours earlier. As we flew over pastoral estates we could see lone cattle wandering through the high-ground scrub, unable to move to safer ground. Entire roads were no longer visible. The only indication of their existence were green highway signs just poking out from the water. The endless flooded territory resembled an ocean more than the archetypal North West setting with workmen’s sheds left completely submerged by the torrent. One of the worst-affected areas was the community of Camballin where houses had been nearly swallowed and demountables floated in the murky depths. We headed for Fitzroy Crossing and as we approached we could see the water levels had started to fall, revealing the damage. A third of the Fitzroy Crossing bridge had been washed away and the rest was badly damaged. The bridge sagged in the middle where a pair of pylons holding it up had been washed away. In town, dark mud surrounded houses and lined the pot-holed streets. As we headed back to Broome, it was clear how overwhelmed the Kimberley had become. It seemed there was not one square inch that hadn’t been affected by this catastrophic event.