Australian town of Rockhampton braces for flood peak

The Australian town of Rockhampton was bracing itself Wednesday as flooded rivers reach their peak, forcing the evacuation of residents and hospital patients. The Fitzroy river which runs through the inundated town of 75,000 people is expected to peak at 9.40 metres later on Wednesday.

Buildings are submerged in floodwaters in a neighbourhood in Rockhampton Reuters

Queensland's premier Anna Bligh said the disaster, which has now affected 40 towns and up to 200,000 people, was “without precedent in its size and scale” in the state.

Three quarters of the state’s mines are now inoperable owing to the flooding, which Bligh said would have a “massive impact on the international markets and the international manufacture of steel”.

The state’s resources minister says the industry is losing the equivalent of 75 million euros a day.

The region, which has drifting snakes and crocodiles to contend with, faces more misery with thunderstorms forecast for Thursday.