ROCKHAMPTON, Australia, Jan. 5 (UPI) -- Officials say it's too soon to tell whether the worst is over in the in flood-ravaged portions of Queensland in Australia.
Driving that concern home, the weather bureau issued a severe weather warning for flood-affected Rockhampton along the Fitzroy River basin, the Australian Broadcasting Corp. reported Wednesday.
Officials said the Fitzroy would peak at 31 feet, but hydrologist Paul Birch said the river has hung around the 30-foot mark since Tuesday. Officials said they the water could to remain above major flood levels for up to 10 days.
Senior forecaster Tony Auden says the predicted heavy rain could cause further flooding.
"The widespread falls of up to 50 millimeters (nearly 2 inches) could provide enough inflow to give some kind of river rises in the next few days," he said.
Across Queensland, more than 200,000 people in 40 communities were impacted in some fashion by the flood, officials told ABC.
Queensland Premier Anna Bligh said the flood bill would handily surpass initial estimates, ABC said.
"If you count the cost to insurance and to families, if you count everything from the cost to homes, home rebuilding efforts, the public infrastructure rebuilding effort and the economic loss, I think we are well above the $5 billion territory," Bligh said, noting that road repairs alone would cost $2 billion.
Flooding ruined crops, closed most of the state's coal mines and damaged Queensland's transportation systems, the BBC said.
"This is a very serious job ahead of us recovering from a disaster like this," the premier said. "Rebuilding regional Queensland will be a marathon, not a sprint". UPI
