Wellington - New Zealand has sent a Civil Defence emergency response team to Queensland to help Australia in its response to some of its worst flooding in decades.
Large parts of the coastal city of Rockhampton were under water and waters were still rising -- the latest of 22 cities and towns in Queensland to be swamped by floods which started building just before Christmas.
About 1 000 people in Queensland have been evacuated, including the entire population of the town of Theodore.
The Australian government has declared Theodore and two other towns in the region to be disaster zones, and forecasters say the floods have not yet peaked.
The cost of the damage is expected to top $1 billion, including massive losses of sunflower and cotton crops.
Foreign Minister Murray McCully said in a statement that Prime Minister John Key and his Australian counterpart, Julia Gillard, had spoken and agreed that a team from New Zealand would be valuable.
"Australia has always been ready to help when New Zealand is in need, as we saw most recently during the Pike River disaster.
"The New Zealand government is pleased to be able to assist during this difficult time and we will be standing by if any further help is required," he added.
The team of 10-15 personnel was expected to depart for Brisbane on Wednesday.
Meanwhile, the United Nations said the world body was also ready to help flood-hit Australia "should its help be requested" by the Australian government.
UN spokesperson Martin Nesirky said at a news briefing that he noted UN Secretary-General Ban Ki- moon's "growing alarm at the humanitarian situation (in Australia)," but noted that "so far, Australia has not requested humanitarian assistance."
"The United Nations is ready to help should its help be requested," Nesirky said. He added that the secretary-general intends to write a letter to the prime minister of Australia.