Australia flood crisis causing 'catastrophic' damage

Record floods in Australia are causing catastrophic damage to infrastructure in Queensland and have forced 75 percent of its coal mines, which fuel Asia's steel mills, to grind to a halt, Queensland's premier said Wednesday, according to Reuters.

The worst flooding in decades has affected an area the size of Germany and France combined, leaving towns virtual islands in a muddy inland sea, devastated crops, cut major rail and road links to coal ports, slashed exports and forced up global coal prices.

"Seventy-five percent of our mines are currently not in operation because of this flood," Premier Anna Bligh told local television. "That's a massive impact on the international markets and the international manufacturer of steel."

"Queensland is a very big state. It relies on the lifelines of its transport system, and those transport systems in some cases are facing catastrophic damage," Bligh said.

Bligh said the flooding was unprecedented in the state and has directly affected 40 towns, raising the number from 22 announced previously, according to AFP.

Residents in flooded towns scrambled to build sandbag levees Wednesday in the hope of holding back the rising waters, which analysts estimate could shave around 0.4 of a percentage point off Australia's economic activity.

Meanwhile, the floods are also threatening the Great Barrier Reef as tons of sludge pour into the sea.

James Cook University researcher Michelle Devlin said floodwaters carrying debris and pesticides spelt a harmful "cocktail" for the world's biggest reef - a delicate ecological treasure and a major tourist attraction.

"This is a really massive event," Devlin told AFP. "It has the potential to shift the food web; it has the potential to shift how the reef operates."

Agencies