Water levels began to drop slightly across the vast flooded region of northern Australia on Friday, but a forecast of more heavy rain will stymie recovery and cleanup effort.
Queensland state Premier Anna Bligh visited the hardest-hit area and pledged 500,000 dollars to help northern towns recover, asking Australians to add their own contributions.
"The place is totally waterlogged, and we've got more very heavy rain appearing as I speak," Bligh told Australian Broadcasting Corporation radio after flying over the town of Ingham in a helicopter.
The Herbert River in Ingham dropped by 3 in the last 24 hours but could return to its Monday peak of 40 feet if the low pressure storm system off the coast dumps the expected 11+ inches on the town this weekend.
While overflowing rivers and heavy rainstorms are normal during northern Australia's November-to-April tropical cyclone season, the Bureau of Meteorology has predicted above-normal monsoonal activity this season.
The government said that storms since late December have caused an estimated $109 million dollars in damage.
More than 60 percent of Queensland is under water - 400,000 square miles, or twice the area of Spain.
Ingham has been hardest hit, with 2,900 homes damaged or flooded in a weekend storm and hundreds of people evacuated.
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