Australia floods cover area the size of France/Germany

Michael Perry -

Flood water rose across Australia's northeast on Friday, covering an area bigger than France and Germany combined, inundating 22 towns and stranding 200,000 people, and closing one of the country's major sugar export ports.

Flooding has already shut major coal mines in Queensland state and its biggest coal export port, forcing a long list of miners such as Anglo American and Rio Tinto to slow or halt operations.

The worst flooding in about 50 years has been caused by a La Nina weather pattern which has resulted in torrential rain over the past two weeks across northeast Australia.

"This disaster is a long way from over," Queensland state premier Anna Bligh told reporters on Friday.

"We now have 22 towns or cities that are either substantially flooded or isolated. That represents some 200,000 people spanning an area that's bigger than the size of France and Germany combined," said Bligh.

Prime Minister Julia Gillard toured the flood-hit sugar city of Bundaberg, which closed its port on Friday after flood debris was washed downstream into shipping channels and damaged navigation beacons.

"This is a natural disaster across Queensland," said Gillard in announcing a A$1 million ($1 million) government contribution to a flood aid appeal which now totals A$6 million.

Shipments of sugar from Australia, one the world's leading exporters of the sweetener, have been disrupted because of Bundaberg's port closure. The port normally ships about 400,000 tonnes of raw sugar annually, with three 30,000-tonne vessels due to arrive in the next few days.

"If the port is closed for only a few days it won't be a big issue but any extended delay would cause some concern," said Brian Mahoney, an executive with Marybrough Sugar Factory Ltd that ships through Bundaberg.

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