Flood recovery efforts are underway on the Gold Coast as the damage total nears that seen during Cyclone Debbie in 2017, while an increasingly dire situation unfolds just south of the border.
A man paddles his kayak next to a submerged bus on a flooded street in the town of Milton in Brisbane. Photo: AFP
An elderly woman has been found dead in her flooded home in the New South Wales city of Lismore, bringing the death toll from days of torrential rain in eastern Australia to ten.
Local disaster coordinator for Gold Coast City Council Alton Twine said concerns are focused on the Alberton and Carbrook areas in the north.
"It's been encouraging overnight to see the data for the gauges in the Albert River, they're falling [but] still rising slightly in the lower reaches of the Logan," he said.
"So we've issued an emergency warning for residents in that area."
Meanwhile, about 700 residents who evacuated areas around Chinderah in northern New South Wales have gathered at Kingscliff TAFE institute.
Michelle, a nurse who was evacuated from her home yesterday, said people are being displaced.
"There's mostly elderly people here, most people have got no shoes on," she said.
"They arrived soaking wet from head to toe, cuts and minor abrasions, carrying garbage bags with hardly anything in them.
"I've never come this close to being taken by mother nature."
Risk remains for the north
Major flood warnings for the Logan and Albert Rivers remain in place, with flood levels potentially exceeding those seen during Cyclone Debbie in 2017.
Evacuation centres remain open at the Reedy Creek waste and recycling centre, and the Ormeau community centre.
"That catchment does take a while to drain … so we'll be looking at those communities up there for the next few days," Twine said.
He said council crews were assessing damage in the Tallebudgera Valley and Currumbin Valley while beaches are likely to remain closed for "the next few days".
"We know we've had some asphalt damage in the valleys, we've had bridge damage as well," he said.
"Through those valleys we've had a lot more damage than we had [for] say ex-TC [ex-tropical Cyclone] Debbie."
Police Acting Chief Superintendent Rhys Wildman said yesterday he directed police officers to "have a very hard line" with motorists attempting to cross flooded roads, but said no fines had been issued so far.
"Our focus has [been] very much involved in the rescue process and once we've recovered people from the floodwaters and those that have driven into the floodwaters, we'll make enquiries and take enforcement action down the track," he said.
More than 80 roads remain closed, with Queensland police redeploying resources to northern suburbs around the Logan River in Alberton.
"We're looking at probably about a 12-metre peak around there somewhere between 10am and 12 noon," he said.
"Pay attention to the warnings that have been issued."
An estimated 20,000 households have been affected by flooding across Queensland but it's not yet clear how many properties on the Gold Coast are included.
An aerial view of the flooded city of Maryborough along the over-flowing Mary River in Queensland. Photo: Queensland Police Services via AFP
Hundreds stranded near Tweed Heads
Michelle said she has been sleeping on cardboard boxes while attempting to care for others, but does not know the extent of damage to her home.
"At least I'm dry and warm. I feel really grateful to be here," she said.
"I was terrified when I got here but I knew if I started doing my nursing work I would start feeling better."
Sunshine Coast man Dene Smedley has been stranded with other motorists just south of the border near Tweed Heads since 2pm yesterday, with parts of the M1 still blocked.
"There's kids and elderly people and we're just sitting around waiting for somebody to tell us what's going on," he said.
"We've got water behind us and water in front of us."
Two days' supply left
Tweed Shire Council Mayor Chris Cherry said local and state authorities are cooperating in recovery efforts but that people need to conserve water in the short-term.
"We can't treat water at the moment and so although the most tempting thing for everybody to do is hose everything down, we've only got two days' supply of water," she said.
"It's going to take two days to repair our water treatment."
Cherry said "there's massive road damage all over the shire".
"We're concentrating obviously on trying to restore water services, that's the biggest priority; and getting people to safety," she said.
"We're still right in that crisis mode."
Floods from an overflowing Oxley Creek inundate roads at Rocklea in Queensland on 26 February 2022. Photo: AFP
Damage being assessed on Gold Coast
Karen Goodridge's grandson attends the Pandas childcare centre in Avocado Street in Elanora which flooded.
"They've got no electricity, no computers. Everything went up to waist-deep in the centre," she said.
"We have had it flooded before but nothing to this extreme."
Goodridge said her daughter, who manages the centre, along with the local community have been trying to find an alternative venue.
"It's really so sad because there's [someone] there now without a job if they can't get something up and running, apart from parents that have just had short notice."
Gold Coast beaches are likely to remain closed for the next few days, according to the City of Gold Coast.
Surfer Terry 'Tappa' Teece said boulders from rock slides at Burleigh Headland were blocking walking tracks.
"There's people out there surfing, about half-a-dozen guys out there," he said.
"I'd advise against because there's lots of stuff [in the water]. I've heard of lots of stuff, shipping containers coming down Tallebudgera Creek.
"The waves are very large, a lot of water moving."
Investigation into death
The bodies of a 51-year-old man and his dog were found in a submerged car yesterday morning at Currumbin Creek Road.
Acting Chief Superintendent Wildman said police were "still looking at how exactly that situation unfolded".
"But what it highlights is that there's a real personal touch to everyone of these situations."
Teece said he had known the 51-year-old man "since he was a young grommit at Nobbys".
"His dog was a lifelong companion, 19 years old," he said.
"It's pretty tragic, rest in peace."
Wet weather conditions are forecast on the Gold Coast from Thursday.
Evacuation orders in place for 40,000 in NSW
Flooding is hitting northern New South Wales hard.
The New South Wales premier says a river in the northern town of Lismore last night reached 2m above a record high.
Dominic Perrotet said there have been 1000 rescues from flooding so far, with 6000 calls for assistance.
He said there are 26 evacuation orders in place, for 40,000 people.
Up to 50 people stuck on a bridge near Woodburn were rescued overnight, with the Richmond River at 6.3m and rising.
- ABC