Kimba Wong, a forecaster at the Bureau of Meteorology, told Australian broadcaster ABC the thunderstorms that triggered the heavy rainfall were a "one-in-100-year event".

Fire-ravaged areas in the Australian state of Queensland have been hit by historic rainfall and flooding after heavy thunderstorms, which are predicted to continue throughout the weekend, Australian media reported on Saturday.

According to the portal news.com.au, 100 millimetres (3.93 inches) of rain fell in many areas of Queensland overnight and into Saturday morning, cutting off road access. The area around Loder Creek, in southeast Queensland, recorded the highest rainfall when 330 millimetres fell overnight, the portal reported.

At the same time, many areas of New South Wales and Victoria continue to suffer from some of the most devastating bushfires in Australia’s history. Thousands of homes are reportedly still without power, while residents in northeast Victoria have been evacuated from their homes once again as fires inched closer to residential buildings.

The bushfires have been ravaging Australia since September 2019 and have reportedly burned an estimated 15.6 million acres of land, claimed at least 29 lives, destroyed more than 2,000 houses, and killed over 1 billion animals. The international community has donated tens of millions of dollars to aid rescue and fire-extinguishing operations.