Council abandons flooded outback town, blocking residents from returning home
More than 20 residents cannot go home to Urandangi. More than three years have passed since the 2023 floods destroyed most buildings.
More than 20 residents remain displaced from Urandangi. It is a remote outback town near the Queensland-Northern Territory border.
Devastating floods in March 2023 destroyed about 15 homes and the only pub. The town sits on the Georgina River.
The river rose to more than 7 metres in the floods, matching the 1974 record. Michele Belia is one of those displaced.
She just wants to go home, but she cannot without water and suitable housing. Boulia Shire Council stopped supplying drinking water from December 2024.
The reason was the cost of bacterial testing needed to keep water safe. The council says restoring services would cost about $500,000 each year.
It is asking state and federal governments to fund the rebuild. Aboriginal advocacy groups say the community is being abandoned.
- More than 20
- Displaced residents
- About 15
- Homes destroyed
- More than 7 metres
- Flood height
- $500,000
- Annual cost to restore services
Why it mattersThree years on, essential services remain unavailable and residents are locked out of their homes. This raises questions about government responsibility in remote communities hit by disaster.
AustraliaThis affects a small Indigenous community in far western Queensland and signals how remote towns can struggle for years after floods without state and federal support.
✓ Claims checked against the source and corrected before publish. checked 2 h ago
