Queensland’s recovery to ‘take months and years’ after floods sweep across vast interior

The flooded town of Thargomindah, Queensland. The BoM is predicting the flooding will last ‘days if not weeks’ across the state’s west. Photograph: Daniel Roy

Queensland’s premier has declared “day one” of a recovery that will take years as the state prepares to wake to clear skies that should reveal the vast scale of its outback floods.

But despite forecasts the rain will pass for soaked central and south-west Queensland by Thursday, towns and homesteads could be cut off or at risk of flooding for weeks to come, forecasters warned.