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Floods cut off city, military sent to help

ROCKHAMPTON, Australia, Jan. 3 (UPI) -- The last road into flood-besieged Rockhampton in Australia's Queensland was underwater Monday, officials said.

Defense Minister Warren Snowdon ordered the military to ferry supplies to the city's 75,000 residents.

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The flood's death toll was at 10.

Flooding has affected 200,000 people and inundated thousands of homes.

Residents and government officials braced for more water in what has been called the worst flooding in two decades, The Sydney Morning Herald reported.

Officials expressed concern that heavy rains would trigger more flooding later this week from Dalby north to Kingaroy and east to Maryborough and the Sunshine Coast.

In the towns of Surat, St George, Dirranbandi and Hebel in the southwest, residents sandbagged and scrambled to higher ground, the Brisbane Courier-Mail reported.

Prime Minister Julia Gillard said cleanup and relief efforts would run into hundreds of millions of dollars

After the last Rockhampton road was blocked, three Black Hawk helicopters became the only way supplies could be delivered, officials said.

The Red Cross said it expects up to 1,000 residents to move into evacuation centers this week, the Courier-Mail reported.

Queensland Premier Anna Bligh said it was particularly distressing for Rockhampton residents because it would be weeks before the water recedes.

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Queensland Police Chief Superintendent Alistair Dawson said extra officers were dispatched to Rockhampton and other regional towns to prevent looting, the Courier-Mail reported.

"People are slowly returning to their homes," Dawson said. "It's a heartbreaking journey. They've experienced losses and tragedies most of us can't relate to."

The flooding is forcing snakes to seek higher ground, bringing them into closer contact with humans, the Courier-Mail reported.

Snake expert Michael O'Brien of the Cairns Tropical Zoo said many species of snakes and spiders would be on the move to escape the waters.

"They head to homes, trees, any respite from the water," O'Brien said, "and that is where they come into contact with humans and accidents do happen."

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