Record breaking floods play havoc in Australia

CAIRNS, Jan 27 (AFP): Communities were cut off, farmers stranded and cows washed offshore as heavy rain pelted northeast Australia on Sunday, with one major river breaking 118-year-old floodwater records.

The Bureau of Meteorology said Queensland's Daintree River rose to 12.60 metres - a level not seen in over a century - and local authorities warned that some residents in remote areas could be cut off for days.

The heritage listed Daintree Rainforest received more than 300 millimetres of rain in just 24 hours and Northern Queensland is bracing for monsoonal conditions for the rest of the week.

Residents in this tropical region of Australia are used to a heavy wet season, but the recent deluge has cut off a ferry line that is the only means of accessing some areas.