Anna Bligh's comments came as three quarters of the state's coal fields are unable to operate due to being flooded.

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Among the untouched spots: the town of Ellamar on Virgin Bay, less than 2 miles from Bligh Reef.

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The Valdez tried to avoid such bergs as it made its way between the glacier and craggy Bligh Reef.

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Ms Bligh added that until the waters recede, "it's going to be hard to really fully assess the long-term economic and social impact".

BBC: Australia floods 'to hit global steelmaking'

Ten years ago on March 24, 1989, 11.2 million gallons of oil spilt into Alaska's Prince William Sound after Captain Joseph Hazelwood skippered the Exxon Valdez onto Bligh Reef.

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Julia Gillard and Anna Bligh were due to visit Emerald on Friday but were unable to land, instead flying over the area to get an aerial view of the devastation.

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It is widely thought that the unruffled pace of life in Tahiti prompted sailors on the British Royal Navy ship HMS Bounty to mutiny against their commanding officer, William Bligh, who was accused of mistreating his crew, in April 1789.

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Jim Wolfensohn was a second-year student at the University of Sydney when a friend of his and the captain of the fencing team, Rupert Bligh, asked if he wanted to go to Melbourne the next day to fence in the national university championships.

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The Tradescants are buried in an ornate tomb outside St Mary's Church, beneath the walls of Lambeth Palace, the home of the Archbishops of Canterbury. (Next to them lies Captain Bligh of the Bounty.) In the early 1970s, when the Nicholsons made a pilgrimage to the Tradescant tomb, they were horrified to find it in poor shape and the church destined for demolition.

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