Check out the Central Queensland News photo gallery of the disaster.
Floodwaters are surging into the coastal city of Rockhampton which could be isolated by Sunday as Queensland's devastating flood disaster rolls on.
Rockhampton is braced for a flood that could affect about 40 per cent of the city, with the airport already shut down and road links expected to be
severed before the weekend is out.
People are being moved out of low-lying homes and into an evacuation centre amid fears that upwards of 4000 properties could be affected when flood waters peak at 9.4 metres on Wednesday.
Directly west, at devastated Emerald, authorities are braced for a months-long recovery after at least 1000 homes were flooded, along with 95 per cent of businesses in the town.
The Queensland treasurer on Saturday said the state was in the grip of a disaster "of biblical proportions" that would have serious, long-lasting economic consequences.
"It will be a multi-year impact," Andrew Fraser told AAP from Bundaberg, where he met with victims after the worst floods in four decades swamped 300 homes and 120 businesses.
"Just as the recovery was building this will side swipe the pace of that recovery," he said, adding growth forecasts would have to be revised down.
The treasurer has delayed the delivery of his mid-year Fiscal and Economic review, which had been due in January, so he can factor in enormous costs from the floods.
He's warned of a double whammy, with the bottom line taking hits from huge clean-up, recovery and assistance costs and reduced royalties as the mining industry recovers.
In Rockhampton, residents are braced for their share of pain from a disaster that's already affected more than 200,000 people over an area bigger than France and Germany combined.
About 1000 properties are already affected by floodwaters, although none have been inundated yet, the ABC reported on Saturday afternoon.
Rockhampton Mayor Brad Carter believes the city could be isolated by the end of the weekend, and could remain that way for up to 10 days.
On Saturday, authorities were working to empty low-lying areas and police have the power to force people out if they refuse to go.
"This is a tragic circumstance that we've had to get to this level," Mr Carter told the ABC.
"The community is still expecting to have significant amounts of floodwaters at the height of about 8.5 metres into the middle of January."
He said residents forced to flee must be prepared for long evacuations, and added that the airport could remain closed for anything up to three weeks, depending on the damage.
At Emerald, some residents were hoping to get back into their homes over the weekend after the Nogoa River receded slightly.
Central Highlands Mayor Peter Maguire said aerial photographs showed at least 1000 homes had been inundated, along with almost every commercial property.
"There may be more homes affected, we don't know," he told AAP, adding it would be months before life returned to normal.
There's no respite either for residents of the central township of Theodore, who are facing at least another week in emergency accommodation.
A second wave of water has swamped the township at a level rivalling the one that forced the evacuation of the entire 300-strong community earlier this week.
"We don't know when we will get back in our houses," Banana Shire Mayor John Hooper told AAP, adding residents holed up at Moura were feeling very anxious.
The Bureau of Meteorology said the Dawson River at Theodore should start to recede by early to mid next week, but at a slow rate.
The treasurer said families in some areas were beginning to return to their homes to find them uninhabitable.
"That's a huge toll for them, a huge toll on them psychologically," Mr Fraser said.
He said the "silent problem" of heartache would continue for some time across Queensland, alongside the economic fallout.
He warned of a double whammy, with the state's bottom line taking hits from huge clean-up, recovery and assistance costs and reduced royalties as the mining industry recovers.
"I expect forecast growth will have to be revised downwards.
"It was forecast as building to three and three quarter per cent. South of three (per cent) is now a likely scenario."
- AAP
