CANBERRA, Australia — Two Australian police officers used pepper spray to fight off a rogue kangaroo that had attacked an elderly woman in her backyard in an Outback town, an official said.

Kangaroos rarely attack humans. Senior-Sgt. Stephen Perkins, head of police in the Queensland state town of Charleville, said he had never before heard of police using pepper spray against one — but that the tactic worked.

“It did subdue the animal and drew its attention away for the officers, so it worked,” Perkins told The Associated Press.

The 94-year-old victim, Phyllis Johnson, was taken to a hospital for treatment for cuts and bruises after the attack Sunday afternoon.

She told a newspaper that she tried unsuccessfully to fight the kangaroo off with a broom after it attacked her while she was hanging laundry.

Powerful storm batters PhilippinesMANILA, Philippines — A slow-moving storm unleashed massive floods and landslides today in the northeastern Philippines, killing at least eight people with 18 missing and several towns isolated.Gov. Joey Salceda said three children died in a landslide in a mountainside village while two men were pinned to death by a fallen tree.Waist-deep floodwaters swamped the houses of about half a million people. The storm caused power outages and canceled classes.