'Biblical' floods threaten thousands in Australia

As Queen Elizabeth II sent her "sincere sympathies" to Queenslanders who rang in a damp new year, the military was assisting deliver food and other supplies to isolated towns by helicopter.

Up to 200,000 people have been affected by the floods which have hurt the state's lucrative mining industry and cut off major highways as the water rushes through sodden inland regions to the sea.

"In many ways, it is a disaster of biblical proportions," Queensland State Treasurer Andrew Fraser told reporters in flood-hit Bundaberg.

Emergency workers were focusing their efforts on Rockhampton where the Fitzroy River had broken its banks and was rising dangerously, threatening some 2,000 to 4,000 homes ahead of reaching its expected peak on Wednesday.

"We know we have prepared as best we can -- most people who are expecting water to inundate their houses have evacuated," said Rockhampton Mayor Brad Carter of the flood which could leave the town stranded for 10 days.

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