12 Drown in Australian Floods, More Rain Yet to Come

An aerial view shows farmland inundated with floodwaters south of the city of Rockhampton, in the Australian state of Queensland, on 06 January 2011. Photo by EPA/BGNES

A total of 12 people have died since the beginning of the tropical storms in Australia, which caused the worst flooding in decades, the BBC reported.

On Monday, two people were reported killed and several more missing from the floods that hit Australia's second largest state Queensland, as heavy rains continue.

Helicopters have joined the rescue operations and are trying to reach people who are trapped in cars and of roofs of building.

About 200,000 people have been affected in the state of Queensland. The flooding has spread on such a large territory that while at some places, the communities are still expecting for the worst, at others, the clean-up had already begun.

However, according to weather forecasts, more rain is yet to come. There are also reports for flooding in the neighboring state of New South Wales.

The Australian PM Julia Gillard has warned that the recovery will take a "long time back."

A massive flooding overwhelmed the biggest inland city in the state of Queensland, Toowoomba. The mayor, Peter Taylor, described the scale of the floods as "unbelievable" and said that the city was in shock.

"It's a real disaster scene where I'm standing at the moment in Russell Street, Toowoomba. There's furniture and furnishing and it's just blown shops away," he said, as cited by the BBC.

The continuing floods in Queensland have washed away roads and railways, destroyed crops and brought the coal industry to a near standstill.

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