Queensland floods "biblical"

Massive flooding around Queensland following Cyclone Tasha which swept through Cairns and drowned the state in the weeks afterward.

 

The Pine River has burst it's bank flooding onto the motorway ne

Rockhampton is braced for a flood that could affect about 40 per cent of the city, with the airport already shut down and road links expected to be severed before the weekend is out.

 

People are being moved out of low-lying homes and into an evacuation centre amid fears that upwards of 4000 properties could be affected when flood waters peak at 9.4 metres on Wednesday.

 

Directly west, at devastated Emerald, authorities are braced for a months-long recovery after at least 1000 homes were flooded, along with 95 per cent of businesses in the town.

 

Queensland Treasurer Andrew Fraser on Saturday said the state was in the grip of a disaster "of biblical proportions" that would have serious, long-lasting economic consequences.

 

He's warned of a double whammy, with the bottom line taking hits from huge clean-up, recovery and assistance costs and reduced royalties as the mining industry recovers.

 

In Rockhampton, residents are braced for their share of pain from a disaster that's already affected more than 200,000 people over an area bigger than France and Germany combined.

 

Central Highlands Mayor Peter Maguire said aerial photographs showed at least 1000 homes had been inundated, along with almost every commercial property.

 

"It was forecast as building to three and three quarter per cent.