The floods, caused by a huge tropical cyclone in that hit the region late last month, impacted at least 70 towns and forced the evacuation of thousands of people from towns and cities.

More than 30 people have been confirmed dead with an additional 40 are missing while over 200,000 people were affected.

Stockwell, a former international sprint swimmer and three-time Olympic medallist, lives in Brisbane, the capital of Queensland, in an area that was badly affected by the floods.

Stockwell, a successful property developer, lives there with his wife, American three-time Olympic gold medallist Tracy Caulkins, and their four children.

Despite the damage to the area, Stockwell and his family are reported to be unharmed although he has yet to return to work in the Gold Coast as the city looks to defeat their only rivals, Hambantota of Sri Lanka, to host the 2018 event with a decision set to be made by the Commonwealth Games Federation at its annual meetiing in St Kitts and Nevis on November 11 .

Gold Coast chief executive Mark Peters told insidethegames: "Alongside all Australians the Bid Team has been saddened by the destruction and loss of life in the Queensland floods.

"Although Gold Coast City was not affected, our thoughts and prayers are with all concerned in the rebuilding of their lives."

Damage from the flood was initially set to be around $1 billion (£628 million) but the estimated loss of revenue from Australia's economy is set to be around $13 billion (£8.173 billion).

Queensland Treasurer Andrew Fraser said it was not possible to put a figure on the devestation, "other than to say the damage bill is going to start with a b and not an m."

Meanwhile, sporting figures from around the world have rallied to raise money for the Flood Relief Appeal.

In the first Twenty20 cricket match between Australia and England in Adelaide on January 12, both teams donated part of their match fees to help the victims with an additional $28,450 (£17,887) collected from people in attendance.

Meanwhile, on January 16, the day before the 2011 Australian Open commenced, a number of players took part in the Rally for Relief which was held at Rod Laver Arena, attended by 15,000 people and raised $750,000 (£47,154).

Players who took part included some of the biggest names in tennis such as Roger Federer, Rafael Nadal, Lleyton Hewitt, Novak Djokovic and Andy Roddick.

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