'Flood on top of flood' will have huge economic ramifications: MP

Click for more photos

Flood disaster surges on

Flooding in Toowoomba. Photo: Beau Rushton

• 
• 
• 
• 
• 
• 
• 
• 
• 
• 
• 
• 
• 
• 
• 
• 
• 
• 
• 
• 
• 
• 
• 
• 
• 
• 
• 
• 
• 
• 
• 
• 
• 
• 
• 
• 
• 
• 
• 
• 
• 
• 
• 
• 
• 
• 
• 
• 
• 
• 
• 
• 
• 
• 
• 
• 
• 
• 
• 
• 
• 
• 
• 
• 
• 
• 
• 
• 
• 
• 

As Rockhampton braces for the invading flood tide to reach its peak, an emergency cabinet meeting is due to get underway in Brisbane to deal with the mounting crisis across Queensland.

Premier Anna Bligh will meet with state ministers this morning from 10am (AEST).

The meeting will help plan the response to a disaster that’s affected more than 200,000 people over an area the size of NSW and is expected to cost billions of dollars in recovery.

Ms Bligh said the meeting will deal with the damage bill and what is expected to be weeks of flooding before waters recede.

‘‘Without doubt this disaster is without precedent in its size and its scale here in Queensland and equally the recovery and the rebuilding effort will be without parallel,’’ she told the Seven Network this morning.

‘‘We’ve got private homes, private businesses, all devastated and they’ll have to be rebuilt.

‘‘We need to start rebuilding as soon as we can, we’re not going to wait for all the water to go down.’’

The premier’s disaster relief fund surpassed the $10.4 million mark today.

Ms Bligh warned that consumers around the country would feel the effects of the flooding and said it would also affect the international economy because Queensland supplies half of the world’s coking coal for steel manufacturing.

‘‘Seventy-five per cent of our mines are currently not operating because of this flood, so that’s a massive impact on the international markets and the international manufacture of steel,’’ she told the Seven Network.

Meanwhile, it’s D-day for Rockhampton as the invading flood tide kicks up a gear to hit its second highest peak in history, inundating an estimated 400 homes.

The weather bureau said the peak was at 9.2 and steady at 6am but could not say exactly when the peak would happen.

It’s due to remain above the major flood level of 8.5 metres for at least a week.

At the 9.4 metre mark, 400 homes will be inundated and thousands more properties will be affected by floodwater.

About 100 people were camped out at the city’s evacuation centre overnight with an estimated 500 others staying with family and friends.

Rockhampton regional council Mayor Brad Carter residents would not be able to move back into their homes for another two weeks.

However, he said Rockhampton would bounce back.

‘‘It was in November 2009 that we had the worst bushfires in history in this region and this community recovered very quickly,’’ he told Sky News this morning.

He said farmers would be suffering for a long time to come once the water subsides.

‘‘It will take a lot to recover from,’’ he said.

‘‘I haven’t had a chance to consider [the economic] issues.

‘‘Our first priority has been safety of our community and the second priority has been protecting the vital infrastructure we need to keep this community running.

‘‘I’m sure we’ll see some agricultural businesses go to the wall.’’

Further south at St George, residents are scrambling to build levees to hold out a record flood that’s predicted to swamp 80 per cent of the community.

The weather bureau said the Balonne River is predicted to reach a record 14 metres at St George on Saturday, with the possibility of small increases on Monday or Tuesday.

Nationals Senator Barnaby Joyce, a St George resident, said today soggy conditions were making flood preparations difficult.

‘‘It’s started to rain here again,’’ he told Sky News.

‘‘We could get a flood on top of our flood.

‘‘We’ve blocked off all of the drains in the town.

‘‘Everyone is pitching in, doing what they can do.

‘‘As soon as this is over we have to concentrate on getting the show back on the road as quickly as possible, otherwise people will be out of work, the price of groceries will go through the roof ... this has huge economic ramifications.’’

Meanwhile the defence force will send two Sea King helicopters to be based at Roma to bolster the recovery effort.Prime Minister Julia Gillard said the helicopters will be on stand-by ready for resupply tasks, medical emergencies and evacuations.

An army Chinook helicopter is also on stand-by in Townsville ready for deployment if required.

Black Hawk helicopters are continuing evacuations in central Queensland while an air force C-130 Hercules plane has delivered temporary accommodation structures, now being used by Emerald residents.

AAP