ROCKHAMPTON, Australia: Australian residents fled their homes and sandbagged properties Tuesday as a major town was threatened by a worsening flood disaster which unleashed a plague of snakes and crocodiles. Tens of thousands of people in Rockhampton braced for complete isolation as waters which have inundated an area bigger than France and Germany, and closed the town's airport and railway, lapped at the last remaining road link. Rumours of crocodile sightings swept the besieged cattle-farming centre northeast of Brisbane, population 75,000, while snakes up to two metres long were spotted around the town centre. The snakes, including highly venomous taipans, brown snakes and red-bellied blacks, are climbing trees and hiding in people's houses as they search for dry refuge, residents said. Floodwaters eased in Australia's major coal mining region Tuesday to allow some mines to slowly resume production, although most remain idle as devastating floods affect some 200,000 people and force towns to be evacuated. The weather bureau has declared flood warnings for seven river systems in Queensland, with monsoon rains forecast for the state's tropical north and thunderstorms for the southeast. Queensland Resource Council said it would take until next week to determine when exports would return to normal. “This is a three part drama: first mining production has to resume, then transport and then ports,” said a council spokesman. Many miners sent home to defend their houses and families were now cleaning-up properties as waters recede, while others could not return to mines because rail lines and roads were still flooded. The mayor of Rockhampton, a town of 75,000 that is surrounded by water and is virtually sealed off from the rest of the country, warned residents it will be at least another 10 days before floodwaters receded significantly. The rains and floods have killed three people over the past two weeks. Thousands of properties have been inundated and livestock left stranded on islands in the vast inland muddy sea. Around 500 houses were evacuated in Rockhampton, near the central Queensland coast, with authorities expecting the flood to peak in the town on Wednesday. About 1,000 people made homeless by the floods are living in evacuation centres.Towns downstream of Rockhampton prepared for floods Tuesday, with people using dirt to build empty moats around their homes in the hope of stopping the surging water.
