<div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>What was set to be a record-breaking dry summer across swaths of inland </span><a href="https://www.9news.com.au/australia" rel="" target="" title="Australia"><span>Australia</span></a><span> has ended in dramatic fashion, with a torrential downpour bringing </span><a href="https://www.9news.com.au/floods" rel="" target="" title="widespread flooding"><span>widespread flooding</span></a><span> in the final days of summer.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>Before this weekend, much of inland Australia </span><a href="https://www.weatherzone.com.au/news/sas-fine-line-between-dry-and-flooding-rain-/1891212" rel="" target="_blank" title="had not seen any rainfall for two to three months"><span>had not seen any rainfall for two to three months</span></a><span>.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>Now, an area the size of Greenland is on flood watch, from the top of the Northern Territory, into Queensland, NSW and down into agricultural regions of South Australia.</span></div></div><div><div id="adspot-mobile-medium"></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><strong><span>READ MORE:</span></strong><span> </span><a href="https://www.9news.com.au/national/i-felt-defamed-the-perth-mum-and-business-owner-cancelled-by-metas-ai/2d86f7fd-dc91-4c13-a8a4-411ac938cfac" target="_blank"><strong><span>'I felt defamed': Perth mum and business owner cancelled by Meta's AI</span></strong></a></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>On Friday night and into Saturday, the remote </span><a href="https://www.9news.com.au/northern-territory" rel="" target="" title="Northern Territory"><span>Northern Territory</span></a><span> community of Alpurrurulam was hit with a 250mm drenching – more than double its monthly average, and its biggest downpour in more than a decade.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>More than 100mm of rain was dumped on the Flinders and north-west pastoral regions of South Australia in less than 24 hours yesterday, leading to the worst flooding in years.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>The major east-west railway line has been closed after floodwaters </span><a href="https://www.artc.com.au/2026/02/22/media-statement-east-west-rail-corridor-flood-impact-network-update/" rel="" target="_blank" title="washed away significant sections of track"><span>washed away significant sections of track</span></a><span> – up to 100 metres in some locations.</span></div></div><div><div class="OUTBRAIN" data-reactroot="" data-src="//www.9news.com.au/national/weather-heavy-rainfall-brings-outback-flooding-railway-line-swept-away-more-to-come/17950e9a-35da-43a7-ab01-bff2eb4f40d4" data-widget-id="AR_5"></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>The line, also known as the Trans-Australian Railway, is a major freight route connecting Perth to Adelaide and the eastern states, and is also used by the Indian-Pacific.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>It's expected to take more than a week before the rail corridor can reopen.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>A large, humid low-pressure system sitting across the centre of the Northern Territory is responsible for drawing rainfall from the tropical north down across what is typically among the driest parts of Australia.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><strong><span>WORLD:</span></strong><span> </span><a href="https://www.9news.com.au/world/donald-trump-says-us-sending-hospital-boat-to-greenland/7fa7e6ac-a649-4a7e-807e-4e3472f18439" target="_blank"><strong><span>Trump offered to send Greenland a 'hospital boat'. The reply was blunt.</span></strong></a></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>More intense rainfall is expected again tomorrow.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>The Bureau of Meteorology has issued a warning for damaging wind gusts throughout Victoria and Tasmania, while there's a flash flooding warning in place for a region in inland New South Wales, Northern Territory, Queensland and South Australia.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>While many drought-affected farmers are welcoming the long-anticipated rain, those in the hardest-hit areas are being warned of flash flooding posing a risk to livestock.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>"There is the potential for travel to be disrupted and for roads to be cut off and even the potential for communities to be isolated," the Bureau of Meteorology said in an update yesterday.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>In an area of South Australia between Wilmington, Hawker and Woomera, as much as 120mm fell in just six hours, while Arkaba in the Flinders region was hit with 100mm yesterday.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>In Queensland, where communities have already been hit by weeks of heavy rainfall, the risk of severe flooding is greater as catchments remain swollen and grounds saturated, the BoM warns.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><strong><em><span>NEVER MISS A STORY:</span></em></strong><span> </span><em><span>Get your breaking news and exclusive stories first by following us across all platforms.</span></em></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><ul><li><strong><em><span>Download the 9NEWS App here via</span></em></strong><span> </span><a href="https://apps.apple.com/au/app/9news/id1010533727" target="_blank"><strong><em><span>Apple</span></em></strong></a><span> </span><strong><em><span>and</span></em></strong><span> </span><a href="https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=nineNewsAlerts.nine.com&amp;hl=en_AU&amp;pli=1" target="_blank"><strong><em><span>Google Play</span></em></strong></a></li><li><strong><em><span>Make 9News your preferred source on Google by</span></em></strong><span> </span><a href="https://9.nine.com.au/8x987w" target="_blank"><strong><em><span>ticking this box here</span></em></strong></a></li><li><strong><em><span>Sign up to</span></em></strong><span> </span><a href="https://login.nine.com.au/edm?client_id=nineatnine" target="_blank"><strong><em><span>our breaking newsletter here</span></em></strong></a></li></ul></div></div>