The damage bill from tropical cyclone Zelia is continuing to rise as flood waters slowly recede across the north of Western Australia. The supply of fresh food to affected areas has become the immediate priority, with outback roads set to be closed for days if not weeks.
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00:00The swollen Coogan River at Marble Bar.
00:05Record rainfall from Cyclone Zelia has cut road access to this town and key supply roads
00:10from Perth to the north.
00:12Some of the rivers have risen more than two metres higher than they've ever risen before.
00:17It's expected to take days, if not weeks, for damaged roads to be repaired.
00:21We are waiting for a couple of days here and we are heading to Broome.
00:26We have got general freight, mining and stuff, and we've got some food stuff as well.
00:31Trucks carrying general freight and food have been stuck in Port Hedland for days, with
00:36no sign of when they'll be able to head north.
00:38Until the rivers stop running and the water stops flowing as quickly as it can, we won't
00:43know what damage has been sustained by the roads.
00:47To ensure Broome's supermarkets are restocked, special permission has been given for road
00:51trains to travel from Perth via South Australia and the Northern Territory, a one-way trip
00:57of more than 6,200 kilometres.
01:00With Broome running low on fresh food, restaurants and cafes are being forced to limit their
01:04menu or turn people away.
01:06Things like fresh fruits, fresh meats, things like that will stop coming through, so it'll
01:10just limit what we can do and what we can sell.
01:12More than 60 people from the community of Worralong don't know when they'll be allowed
01:16to return to their homes from Port Hedland.
01:18Yeah, we're hoping to get back and get our cars, you know.
01:21There's still huge amounts of water around, and that's worrying health authorities.
01:24There's already been one case of mosquito-borne virus here in Port Hedland, and it's leading
01:29to fresh calls to slap on strong insect repellent and not swim in floodwaters.