Brisbane, Australia braces for flooding; woman killed

BRISBANE, Australia (AP) - Military planes were flying food and other supplies toward a major city being slowly swamped in Australia's flood emergency on Monday, and police were increasing patrols in evacuated regions amid reports of looting.

Floodwaters that cover an area the size of France and Germany combined are draining slowly toward Australia's northeast coast, filling bulging rivers to overflowing and inundating at least 22 towns and cities in the cattle and fruit and vegetable farming region.

A 41-year-old woman who was swept to her death in front of her family on Saturday in Burketown, in hardest-hit Queensland state, was the only confirmed victim so far of the flood crisis, which began building shortly before Christmas after days of drenching tropical rain. Searches were under way for two other people, men in separate locations in Queensland, who were missing after being last seen in the floodwaters.

State authorities say about 200,000 people have been affected by the floods, and Prime Minister Julia Gillard on Monday extended emergency relief to those affected, including low-interest loans to farmers to begin cleaning up and get their businesses running again.

"This is a major natural disaster and recovery will take a significant amount of time," Gillard said in a statement.

In Rockhampton, a coastal city of about 75,000 people, waters from the still-swelling Fitzroy River closed the airport, cut the main highway leading to the state capital of Brisbane, and sent scores of families to abandon their homes for relief centers set up on high ground.

Authorities warned the Fitzroy would continue rising until late Tuesday or early Wednesday.