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SIXTY homes were inundated in Emerald yesterday after the swollen Nogoa River swamped low-lying parts of the central Queensland town.Further south, the people of Charleville breathed a collective sigh of relief when a temporary levee did its duty and saved the town from a major flood.Forecasters now fear the next target of the floods that have hit much of the state will be the city of Rockhampton.The floods in Emerald came after hundreds of people were evacuated to higher ground.The town has been isolated since floodwaters cut the main highway into Emerald on Monday. But the railway line was still open yesterday and trains carried food supplies and other necessities into the town.Premier Anna Bligh, who flew to Charleville yesterday morning and then to Emerald in the afternoon, said the flood damage bill across the state could be as high as $1 billion.In Charleville, the hastily built temporary levee - made of pallets, black plastic and steel supports - proved its worth, saving the town from serious flooding when the swollen Warrego River reached its peak of 6m about noon yesterday."The temporary levee has been the salvation of Charleville," said Ms Bligh, who arrived in the town just before the river peaked."What this shows is that, firstly, this technology works and where it can be used it will be used in future to protect other towns in flood circumstances."Emergency workers and townspeople worked non-stop over the weekend to erect the temporary barrier, which plugged holes in a permanent levee that had been under construction for four years but was unfinished when floodwaters from the Warrego began threatening late last week.Two RAAF Hercules aircraft flew in materials for the barrier on Friday night from NSW.The system, which was invented in Sweden 15 years ago, has proved successful in protecting towns and cities from floods in Europe, New Zealand, and NSW."What this levee has meant is that the township of Charleville has been spared any serious flooding," Ms Bligh said."We haven't had to evacuate people where otherwise we would have, so it's great to see this pretty simple but very effective technology working. When I saw it the other day I had to say I thought, 'it looks pretty flimsy'. But it's one of those great ideas that works and it's great for this town."Earlier yesterday, federal Opposition Leader Brendan Nelson flew in to Charleville to inspect the barrier. Dr Nelson put politics aside and praised the efforts of the Queensland and federal governments and local Murweh Shire council mayor Mark O'Brien in rallying together to build the barrier."On Saturday, it will be Australia Day and really this is a celebration of Australians coming together -- it's what our country's all about," Dr Nelson said."The way in which the Queensland emergency services, the Queensland Government, the federal Government, the defence force and everybody has come together, through the leadership in no small way of the mayor, Mark O'Brien, I think is a great credit to Charleville, to the surrounding community and to Australia itself."When Australians stop on Saturday to ask ourselves what it means to be an Australian, look no further than what's happened here at Charleville."Bureau of Meteorology hydrologist Jeff Perkins said Rockhampton could be the next place to face flooding.The Fairbairn Dam near Emerald was still over flowing yesterday, with floodwaters streaming 4.5m above its spillway and flowing into the Nogoa River. The Nogoa is a tributary of the Fitzroy River, which runs through Rockhampton."The Fitzroy is going to have moderate to major flooding later this week," Mr Perkins said.As in the days of Noah....
