"You cannot do drops until you have the fuel for the helicopters and you need to get the information from the landholders on the ground," she said. "What we have done now, a co-ordination centre has been set up and we are listening to the local landholders and cattle producers and mayors. "The other thing we have to be mindful of is that if they are dropped in the wrong place ... the cattle [may] go into floodwaters and they will die. "Let me make it clear. This is a crisis for the cattle industry. "People have gone through drought, they have come out years and years of drought and now they have gone smack bang into a natural disaster, the likes of which no-one out there has been before."

AgForce chief executive Michael Guerin said bureaucratic wrangling and a lack of co-ordination between different levels of government was holding up a military plane loaded with hay. He said it had been stuck at the RAAF Base Amberley, west of Brisbane, since Tuesday. At least 60 producers had registered online for immediate air drops of hay and those producers were managing about 40,000 head of cattle between them. LNP agriculture spokesman Tony Perrett called on all levels of government to show leadership and get feed to starving cattle immediately, saying it had been waiting to go north since Monday. But McKinlay mayor Belinda Murphy said the picture from producers was "please don't send us fodder right now".

"We can't deal with it here in Julia Creek, I don't want a heap of hay sitting at our airport and it rains and it starts to rot," she told ABC Radio Brisbane on Thursday. "A lot of producers are saying fodder drops may not be practical at all, the damage may already be done, they need to make assessments over the coming days and weeks." Prime Minister Scott Morrison said that was the feedback the federal government had also received. "In some cases they want us to hold back on some of those fodder drops until particularly in the black soil areas it dries, which they're hoping might occur by later in the weekend," he said. "The great risk is when you've got livestock that are in mud and they seek to move, they can do even more damage to themselves."

Mr Morrison announced $3 million in funding for mental health services to support people impacted by floods. Farmers faced scenes of devastation when the flooding subsided. Credit:Rae Stretton/Facebook Rae Stretton took to social media to share the "cold hard truth of what my family at Eddington Station, 20km east of Julia Creek, Qld and a heap of other families in North West Qld are dealing with right now". "From drought to floods to losing stock on a massive scale ... the stock that haven’t died from flood water and cold weather have had to be humanely put down. Where is the help from the government now? Hurry government and give the defence force the go-ahead to help these people out. They’re the best in the world for these scenarios." Mr Morrison held a teleconference with regional mayors on Friday, guaranteeing federal funding and support.

Chris Mitchell removes flood damaged items out of his father in-law's house in the Townsville suburb of Rosslea. Credit:Dan Peled - AAP After being inundated with water, Townsville residents faced a shortage on Friday. "Residents are asked to conserve water due to stress on the treatment network," Townsville City Council posted on Twitter. "The huge volumes of water flowing into the dam have included high levels of sediment. "As a result, TCC water treatment plants require more time to treat the water than usual."

Thirty-seven state schools, three Catholic and independent schools and almost 50 childcare centres were closed due to flooding on Friday. Ms Palaszczuk has announced critical disaster funding assistance for teachers and students affected by the flooding disaster. The aerial view of the train with wagons flipped over and what appears to be a chemical slick. Credit:Queensland Rail Teachers can claim up to $1000 and families are eligible for up to $150 per student in critical disaster funding assistance to replace learning essentials. Meanwhile, Queensland Rail fears a freight train tipped over by the force of the flood in the state's north-west has leaked chemical cargo into the water.

A helicopter crew conducting an aerial inspection of the flood impact on the Mount Isa line spotted the train on Thursday afternoon, which had been stowed on high ground. QR chief executive Nick Easy said the 80-wagon train left at Nelia in Julia Creek on January 31 was carrying a mixture of chemicals including zinc and lead. "The aerial inspection showed the wagons at varying angles, with some on their side. It is understood that some product has spilled into floodwaters," he said. "Due to floodwaters continuing to rise and heavy rainfall, Queensland Rail crews are unable to physically access the site. "Upon identifying the impacted train, Queensland Rail immediately reported the issue to emergency services, the Department of Environment and Science and the Office of the National Rail Safety Regulator, and has stood up a local incident co-ordination team.

"Queensland Rail will work closely with the different agencies to understand impacts and respond to the incident and will continue to keep the local community updated.'' The bodies of two men were discovered as the water started to recede after the height of the flood in Townsville this week. Police believe without the combination of council tip trucks, army vehicles and specialist rescue teams, the death toll would have been much higher. A man helps strangers remove flood-damaged items from their home in the Townsville suburb of Rosslea on Thursday. Credit:Dan Peled - AAP As flood-affected residents continue to push mud and ruined furniture out of their homes, disease-carrying mosquitoes have been added to the list of health risks.

Queensland Health said Townsville residents should cover their skin as much as possible and wear mosquito repellent during the clean-up operation. "Mosquitoes, capable of transmitting diseases, might be more common after a natural disaster, so be sure to cover up with long and loose clothing and use insect repellent," a health spokeswoman said. "Once the clean-up has begun, it’s also important to take action and eliminate mosquito breeding sites. "Rain or floodwater may have collected in containers around people’s yards, providing an ideal place for mosquitoes to breed." A Queensland Fire and Emergency Services spokeswoman said while there had not been any swift water rescues overnight, Townsville residents had made more than 40 calls for help to the State Emergency Service.

The spokeswoman said QFES planned to begin helping with cleaning up and washing mud from residents' homes at the weekend as the recovery operation kicked into top gear. Ms Palaszczuk said on Thursday almost 1000 homes were confirmed to have been either severely damaged or flooded beyond repair out of the near 1500 assessed. QFES teams had inspected more than 2400 damaged homes in the north Queensland city by Friday. The Bureau of Meteorology says conditions are perfect for the system to gain strength offshore, and potentially head back toward the east coast. "We don't want to alarm people yet because it is not certain, but we can't completely rule it out," forecaster David Crock said.