Enormous dust storm engulfs remote Queensland town

An enormous dust storm stretching into the horizon engulfed the town of Bedourie in south-western Queensland yesterday.

Diamantina Shire Council Tourism Officer Maggie den Ronden told 9NEWS she has lived in Bedourie for three years and had never seen a dust storm like it.

"All of a sudden you've gone from daylight to no visibility whatsoever," she said.

"It's a red dust. By the time it rolled into town it was an orange hue. It's quite eerie."

The dust storm lasted an hour and a half, however the town remained bathed in a dusty haze for the rest of the day.

"A lot of (the locals) were already inside because of the heat," she said.

"It just happened that we went out the back door and noticed the clouds, thinking 'that's not a storm'."

Ms den Ronden then went to a nearby sand hill to take photos of the approaching dust storm.

Around 110 people live in the remote town of Bedourie, which translates to "dust storm" in the local Indigenous language.

Graziers in other areas of the Diamantina Shire have recently experienced dust storms too, which is made worse by the lack of grass cover caused by the ongoing drought.