Rescue efforts are underway in the remote Australian town of Burketown as record-high floods continue to rise rapidly. Here are three key points from the article:

Helicopters and other aircraft have already flown out 53 vulnerable people from the town, and only about 100 people remained in the area by Saturday morning.

The swollen Albert River has transformed wide areas of land around the town into lakes, and about half of the town’s houses have been flooded. The elderly and young children are a priority for evacuation.

Australia has been experiencing heavy rain in the past two years, driven by back-to-back La Nina climate cycles over the Pacific. Experts have warned that climate change is amplifying the risk of natural disasters in the country.

Rescuers have been working around the clock to airlift residents from the remote Australian town of Burketown, as record-high floods continue to rise. Over the past few days, helicopters and other aircraft have flown out 53 vulnerable people from the small community in northeastern Australia. The swollen Albert River has transformed wide areas of land around the town into lakes, with only the tops of trees visible. About half of the town’s houses have been flooded, and murky water now laps at the sides of buildings in the town.

As of Saturday morning, only about 100 people remained in Burketown, and state police were working to ferry more people to safety. However, the “final alert” has been issued by the local Burke Shire Council, warning residents that the water movements are unpredictable and rising at a rapid pace. They are strongly encouraging residents to evacuate, telling them to pack a bag and warning there would be no evacuation flights after Saturday.