At a meeting in Townsville on Friday, the Insurance Council of Australia told Deputy Premier Jackie Trad the north Queensland city's losses were about $606 million.

The latest figures from AgForce estimated half a million cattle had been killed in north-west Queensland, costing farmers about $500 million in livestock using the organisation's $1000 per head average figure.

ICA chief executive Rob Whelan said hundreds of disaster recovery experts and insurance assessors were on the ground in Townsville.

"There is no doubt in my mind that Townsville, already well known for its high flood risk, has been hit by the worst floods in living memory," he said.

"So far 15,571 claims have been lodged [90 per cent domestic, 10 per cent commercial] with
losses of about $606 million.

"Insurers are prioritising 457 residential properties identified as unliveable. They have already provided $17.5 million in support, emergency accommodation and repairs."

Nine shires across Queensland have been declared disaster zones.

AgForce chief executive Michael Guerin told the ABC at least 500,000 cattle had been lost in the state's north-west, with the potential for this to rise in the coming weeks.

Authorities were racing to dispose of dead animals to limit the spread of disease.

A woman aged in her 50s died in Townsville after contracting melioidosis, a rare infection caused by bacteria commonly found in soil, especially in the tropics.

There have been at least nine other recorded cases of melioidosis following the recent flooding in Townsville, all of which required hospitalisation.

Dr Mark Blaskovich from the UQ Institute for Molecular Bioscience said normally people would not come into contact with the bacteria, but when floods receded, they left mud laced with the microbes.

Queensland normally sees an average of 10 cases of melioidosis annually, meaning it had already reached its yearly total for the condition.

The Flinders River has experienced its most significant flooding in the last 50 years, bursting its banks severely enough to appear on the weather bureau's satellite images.

It has grown from a modest stream to 70 kilometres in width.

The river and surrounding areas broke yearly rainfall records as the catchment received its annual rainfall total in a matter of 10 days and some places copped 800 millimetres.

The military was flying in crucial supplies to north-west Queensland, with an RAAF C-17A Globemaster delivering a further 10,000 litres of fuel in 52 drums to Mount Isa on Saturday.

The most recent delivery meant the RAAF had delivered more than 42,000 litres of aviation fuel to the north-west.

Prime Minister Scott Morrison visited the region on Friday, touring flood-affected farms and speaking with graziers.

Mr Morrison said there was a long road ahead - lasting five to 10 years - for graziers who had been working the land for generations.

"This will be again one of the most prosperous regions of the country ... and we are going to rebuild the cattle industry here," he said.

"We've been knocked off our feet here a bit, right across the region, but we all get back up together."

He said the government was aware of the need to repair roads, restock and deal with debt and cash flow, as well as the human cost.

There are a range of disaster relief options, including three months of support payments and one-off payments to help people get back on their feet.

- with AAP