Australia's northeastern state of Queensland might have to spend hundreds of millions of dollars to compensate the damages caused by excessive floods.
Last weekend production was halted at coal mines and coal exports were disrupted after one of the largest storms to have affected Queensland. Rail lines in metallurgical coal production region Bowen Basin for the transport of coal to the port at Dalrymple Bay are totally under water, news reports say.
"There is no doubt that the cost of this flood will have budgetary implications," Queensland Premier Anna Bligh told reporters on Monday. She said that the damage, which affected major transport routes, had to be fixed as soon as possible.
Xstrata Plc and Peabody Energy Corp. halted production at mines and declared force majeure. BHP Billiton Mitsubishi Alliance, the world's largest steelmaking coal exporter, said earlier last week that rainfall had affected its shipments whereas its production had not been affected.