ROCKHAMPTON, Australia, Jan. 4 (UPI) -- Heavy rain was forecast to fall again Wednesday in Australia's flooded Queensland state, and forecasters said wet weather is expected to last for three months.
Flooding has killed at least 10 people, emergency officials said.
The Royal Australian Air Force has been shuttling supplies to stranded areas.
"The thing we are all very fearful of is that we've only just started our wet season: We've got three months of cyclone season to go," said Brent Finlay, president of AgForce, a rural lobbying association.
"We're trying to encourage people to get (done) whatever they can … in anticipation of another hit and the forecast up here isn't great".
The National Climate Center predicted the region would get an above-average rainfall until the end of March, along with tropical cyclones.
Queensland communities typically receive between 15 and 26 inches of rain during the period.
"Over most of southeastern Queensland and northeastern (New South Wales) we think there is a 65 percent to 75 percent chance of above-average rainfall for the three months," climatologist Blair Trewin said. "That's a pretty big shift in the odds".
Queensland business and industry officials said few entities escaped the recent rains.
Flooding affected an "extraordinary number" of open-cut coal mines and delayed coal exports worth up to $1 billion, Michael Roche, Queensland Minerals Council chief executive officer, told the Herald.
"Very few mines escaped some impact from the recent monsoonal low," Roche said.
The sugar cane industry from the New South Wales border to Mossman also was affected, industry officials said. Nearly 20 percent of the crop could not be harvested and many growers haven't been able to plant for next season.
"We're forecasting that the crop this year could be quite low, possibly reaching record lows," said Ron Mullins, Canegrowers acting chief executive officer. UPI
