Australian Prime Minister Kevin Rudd has praised New Zealand for its help to save a southern Queensland town threatened by rising floodwaters.
Emergency workers and flood experts flown in from New Zealand worked through Friday night to complete temporary flood barriers in Charleville.
The town's levee was still
under construction and had to be plugged by the barriers, which were flown in by two Australian Defence Force Hercules aircraft.
The Warrego River is expected to peak at 6.3m after midday today, and the town faces a nervous wait to see whether it rises above the levee.
Rudd said state and federal agencies had pulled together quickly to come to the aid of the town.
"It's fantastic to see Queenslanders pulling together at a time like this," he told reporters in Charleville.
"The other thing is the work which has been involved in bringing these temporary levees here is also quite remarkable.
"A request from Emergency Management Queensland one day, through to Emergency Management Australia, the federal government authority, through to the Australian Defence Force, through to our New Zealand friends, and with the co-operation of the NSW government, all those things have come together to have this in place in 12 to 14 hours from the original request being made."
Rudd said he wanted to see the extent of the damage first-hand.
Charleville's hospital, nursing home and houses in low-lying areas have already been evacuated.
Premier Anna Bligh said relief had now been extended to 42 shires.
"Level three of the ... national disaster relief arrangements were activated today," Bligh said.
"This level three allows primary producers and small businesses in the 42 shires that are affected by floods and rain to access assistance for re-stocking and repairing damage."
Ms Bligh is now touring Emerald, where the Fairbairn Dam is full to overflowing for the first time in 17 years.
Ms Bligh has admitted that for some in the drought-stricken state, the rains were a boon.
"There's a lot of water around, the place is looking wonderfully, wonderfully green, but there's still a very nervous 48 hours," she said.
- AAP
