Australia's biggest floods in decades have forced more people in rural and mining areas to leave their homes, with waters yet to peak in one of the worst affected towns.
The floods have left ten people dead and submerged or disrupted life across an area the size of France and Germany combined.
Around 500 houses have been evacuated in Rockhampton in Queensland, with authorities expecting the flood to peak in the town tomorrow.
About 1,000 people made homeless by the floods are living in evacuation centres.
'It's so surreal. Like all the carparks are gone. It looks like a beach in some areas,' one woman told ABC radio from Rockhampton.
The town of 75,000 people is surrounded by water and is virtually sealed off from the rest of the country.
Residents have also been warned to stay out of the water amid fears of snakes and crocodiles.
Australian military aircraft are ferrying supplies to the town.
Other parts of Queensland have begun cleaning up after the worst of the flooding passed, but officials have warned that relief and recovery operations could last for weeks.
The rising waters have brought the nation's biggest coal region to a virtual standstill and pushed world coal prices higher.
Australia accounts for more than half of global coking coal exports, which are vital to steelmakers, especially in Asian countries.
US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton has expressed condolences for the dead and offered aid, while New Zealand has promised to send an emergency response team.
