Floodwaters seem to be reaching its peak soon in some areas in Queensland as authorities appoint Maj. Gen. Mick Slater to lead recovery efforts in the state.

Water continues to rise in some areas although light rains failed to aggravate the disaster. “This is a disaster on an unprecedented scale and it is going to take an unprecedented, sustained effort to rebuild regional Queensland,” Anna Bligh, the state premier, said in a statement. “Major General. Mick Slater is an outstanding Queenslander, and I am pleased that he has agreed to lead the Flood Recovery Taskforce.”

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Heavy rains from a cyclone hitting the state in December led to the worst flooding the country has ever seen in more than 50 years and displacing more than 200,000 people. Authorities are already releasing a relief fund to help the flood victims.

“We’ve had big floods before,” Bligh told ABC. “We’re a tropical state. But we’ve never had them over so many towns, so many cities and had so much public infrastructure at risk because of the size of the area.”

The disaster is expected to strain commodity and food supplies as much of the state’s major businesses have been severely hit by the floods. This will apply to its huge coal exports where the Queensland Resources Council estimates that losses will amount to a minimum of $1 billion. The decreased coal supply will lead to rising international prices as developing economies use the resources for power generation and steel making.

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