ADF to help with clean-up as floods keep rescuers busy

Federal Emergency Management Minister Murray Watt said 50 ADF personnel will head to the Gold Coast, Scenic Rim and Logan from Thursday.

"We know that right across those three councils there remains quite a lot of the energy network which needs replacement, power lines that are down," he said.

"The ADF personnel will in particular be focusing on the clearance of debris to make it easier to access that infrastructure and get it repaired and reconnected."

Gold Coast mayor Tom Tate said this was "a good start".

"Let's see the assessment and then let's see what sort of equipment we can incorporate with that," he said.

"I'd imagine that number will increase ... but once they're on the ground we'll make a recovery plan."

There are still 11,000 homes that have been without power since storms lashed the southeast on Christmas Day.

"We know how frustrating it is, we know how difficult it is for families, in particular at this time of the year but we're working as hard as we can to get that power restored," Deputy Premier Cameron Dick said.

There have been 700 calls to the SES for help in the past 24 hours, with 50 people needing rescue from flood waters.

On Monday evening 44 people were rescued from a campground inundated with floodwater in the Gold Coast hinterland. One person was transported to hospital with minor injuries.

At Cedar Creek, southwest of Ormeau, more than 300mm of rain had fallen in the 24 hours to 9am on Tuesday, while North Tamborine got 261mm and 246mm fell at Beenleigh.

Gold Coast theme parks - Movie World, Wet n Wild, Dreamworld and Whitewater World - closed on Tuesday due to the downpour.

The Bureau of Meteorology has warned that heavy rainfall and flooding could continue into Wednesday morning.

"This weather system will see the focus of it shift towards Brisbane and upwards towards the Sunshine Coast over the course of today," meteorologist David Grant said.

"And with that that's where we're probably going to see our primary flood risk during the course of today, into tonight and potentially even into early parts of Wednesday morning."

The Bureau issued a flood warning for the Maroochy River on Tuesday afternoon, saying moderate flooding was possible at Palmview.

Flood warnings also applied to the Dawson, Connors-Isaac, Logan, Albert, Nerang, Coomera and Paroo rivers.

Logan City Council said more than 100 roads have been affected or closed as a result of storm damage and rain, while on the Gold Coast there were 53 road closures, of which 32 were due to flooding.

Rescuers in NSW have responded to at least 115 incidents in 24 hours triggered by storms and flooding in the state's north, as Queensland's saturated southeast braces for yet more rain.

Crews completed 27 rescues in the Northern Rivers region alone since Monday although no significant injuries had been reported, the NSW State Emergency Service said.

Minor to moderate riverine flooding has occurred on the Tweed, Wilsons and Richmond rivers, with the most significant impact at Tumbulgum.

Minor flooding is possible again on Tuesday afternoon at Tumbulgum.

A flood warning was also issued for the RIchmond River at Coraki and Bungawalbyn.

SES Assistant Commissioner Dean Storey said while the intense rain experienced on Monday wasn't expected to recur, the risk was not over.

"Catchments in and around the Northern Rivers continue to see the impacts of significant rainfall over the past 24 to 48 hours, and we're expecting flood warnings to continue across the region," he said.

"People in the Northern Rivers should heed the direction of emergency services on the ground, never drive through floodwaters and avoid unnecessary travel today."

Australian Associated Press