The Australian Defence Force is rushing to deliver food and medical supplies to beleaguered residents in Rockhampton today as floodwaters slowly take over the city.
Hundreds of homes have been inundated and shopping car parks are filling with water as floodwaters in the churning Fitzroy River edge closer to the city's two main bridges and just one street away from the CBD.
The Fitzroy passed the nine-metre mark today on its way to an expected peak of 9.4 metres on Wednesday.
The central Queensland city's airport is closed and road links to the south and west are cut, making normal deliveries of groceries and other household items impossible.
The Defence Force has stepped in to help deliver much-needed food to the city's 75,000 residents, many of whom are being forced to evacuate their homes as the waters rise.
An RAAF Hercules transport aircraft will leave the RAAF Amberley airbase west of Brisbane today and fly to Mackay, where local authorities will load the supplies into vehicles for the drive south to Rockhampton.
Prime Minister Julia Gillard says if the road from Mackay to Rockhampton is cut the supplies will be taken by barge, or flown into the city by chopper.
Aircraft have already been dropping supplies to isolated communities in the flooded area, which now stretches over an area bigger than France and Germany combined.
Premier Anna Bligh flew in to Rockhampton this morning for a briefing from disaster management officials and says the delivery of supplies is critical.
"The city of Rockhampton has 75,000 people. Supplying them with food, ensuring that we keep them safe during this flood is absolutely critical," she said.
Overnight, dozens more residents were forced from their homes - particularly in the low-lying suburb of Depot Hill.
Police have been forcing residents to leave, with Mayor Brad Carter saying authorities will do whatever it takes to protect lives.
Rockhampton SES controller Eddie Cowie says it is a major task moving people to safety.
"We have a lot of water which is currently flowing in through the city in different areas, particularly here where I am at Depot Hill," he said.
"We've got numerous houses that are currently inundated with water, we've got a lot of people that have been evacuated from their residences and today it will be a continuing of primarily evacuating people to a safe location."
Around 50 people spent the night at Rockhampton's evacuation centre, but it will be able to cater for more than 2,000 if necessary. Many more people are believed to be staying with friends and family.
While Rockhampton waits for the worst of the flooding to hit, the Federal Government has already predicted the clean-up effort will cost millions of dollars.
Clean-ups are underway in Emerald and Bundaberg after flooding last week and today the state and federal governments announced new assistance packages.
Farmers and small businesses hard-hit by the floods will be eligible for grants of up to $25,000 to assist with the clean-up and recovery.
Ms Gillard also says immediate relief payments to people in 41 local government areas will start from tomorrow.
"When the floodwaters recede, we are going to see a lot of damage but we will obviously be working with the State Government to rebuild that essential community infrastructure," she said.
"All in all, we know hundreds of millions of dollars are going to flow into Queensland."
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http://www.abc.net.au/news/stories/2011/01/03/3105461.htm
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