Level of water rising today in northeast Australian state Queensland, where 200,000 people were affected, around 4,000 were displaced and 22 cities flooded.

“This catastrophe will not end soon”, Anna Bligh, the state premier of Queensland, said pointing out that flooded area is now larger than the territories of France and Germany together, Reuters reported.

Australian Prime Minister Julia Gillard, who is in the town Bundaberg, one of the largest sugar exporting port which is currently closed, visited endangered areas on Friday and announced material help from the government.

Gillard is to visit the city of Emerald, with around 11,000 citizens in central Queensland, from which more than 1,200 people were evacuated until now.

Largest coal mines in Queensland were also shut due to floods, as well as the largest port for coal export in the state, where six largest rivers have overflowed, and several rivers overflowed in neighbouring state of New South Wales.

Largest floods in last 50 years in Australia are a consequence of the phenomenon known as “La Niña” which, opposite to “El Niño”, bring lower sea surface temperatures to Tropical part of Pacific, and has been causing stormy showers in northern part of the country for two weeks.

Authorities in Queensland reported it is expected for the floods to continue for at least another week.