The list of drought-affected shires in Australia's Queensland continue to expand, this time with the inclusion of Mount Isa, taking the total number of drought-declared shires to 14.

The drought hitting Queensland was beyond expectations, Cloncurry Mayor and grazier Andrew Daniels said. Experts anticipate the rains hopefully will arrive in the north west but only at the end of the year.

Unless it rains, the cattle will die of thirst, Mr Daniels told a Rural Press Club function. Either that or they die from constipation from eating too much bark.

"There's one million cattle that die this year if we don't get something falling from the sky," he said.

"It's a very cruel death. As mayor, I see every day the impacts of what the beef industry is going through. It's heartbreaking."

Moreover, the absence of rain is likewise hitting the communities. "People have to realise that rural people are hurting and going broke."

It was a sentiment echoed by Mount Isa local councillor Ann Seymour.

"Unfortunately I think all the bad moons have actually lined up this year," she told ABC News.

"We've got limited markets, all our trucking companies are well and truly stretched, we've got depressed prices, we've got a very high cost of production and of course we've got mother nature's drought on top of it all."

Apart from Mount Isa, the other shires declared drought-affected were:

  • Boulia
  • Burke
  • Carpentaria
  • Croydon
  • Cloncurry
  • Diamantina
  • Doomadgee
  • Etheridge
  • Flinders
  • McKinlay
  • Mount Isa
  • Murweh
  • Paroo
  • Richmond