Police have charged missing diver Colin Smithies with wasting police time after a $50,000 two-day search for him near Porirua turned out to be pointless - as he had hitchhiked to Hawkes Bay.

Police are expected to this afternoon reveal details of why a diver reported to a Hawkes Bay police station after an extensive two-day search for him near Porirua.

Flooding has left a valley to the west of Brisbane looking like a war zone, with Australian troops steeling themselves for expected ‘terrible outcomes’ as they move into the devastated area.

The threat of looting is making Queensland flood victims reluctant to evacuate their properties.

Brisbane's mayor has called on residents to 'put the shoulder to the wheel' and help clean up.

The frightening power of the brown surge heading towards Moreton Bay leaves no mistake about the devastation that this flood has done.

Find out what people are saying about the Queensland floods in social media.

The death toll from flooding in the Toowoomba region has risen to 12 with the discovery of two more bodies, while the full impact of the flood terror is now reaching the town of Grantham, where up to 30 could be dead.

The diver missing for two days near Titahi Bay has been found - after walking into a police station in Hawke's Bay.

Three thousand homes in Ipswich, southwest of Brisbane, are now under water and 1500 people have gone to evacuation centres, with the predicted flood peak still three hours away.

Peaking river levels in Brisbane could have a devastating effect this evening, with almost 20,000 homes expected to be swamped by tomorrow. Meanwhile, 56,000 homes and businesses are without power and a fire has started at Suncorp Stadium.

Up to 33 per cent of Ipswich, 40km south-west of Brisbane, could be underwater in hours, with floodwaters from the Bremer River, which have already submerged entire blocks of the CBD, set to peak around 2pm (NZT).

A NZ Civil Defence worker who is part of a team helping residents of Queensland is overwhelmed by the scale of the devastation.

Internet trolls have defaced a Facebook site paying tribute to the victims of the Queensland floods.

Police say they are confident a body found on a lake near Rotorua this morning is that of a missing teenage jetskier.

The search for a paua diver missing at Titahi Bay in Porirua resumed at first light today.

Toowoomba boy Jordan Rice, 13, has been remembered as a hero after he let his younger brother be rescued first.

Bystanders watched in horror as a woman only centimetres from her rescuer lost her grip on a power pole and disappeared under a torrent of dirty water during flash floods in Queensland.

Police and Navy divers are continuing searching into the evening for the body of a teenage boy presumed dead after a jetski accident on a lake near Rotorua, while family and friends continue to hold vigil on the shoreline.

Police have named the paua diver missing in Titahi Bay in Porirua, who they believe may still be alive.

Rising gas levels have again stopped workers trying to recover the bodies of 29 men trapped inside the Pike River Coal mine today.

Police say a paua diver missing in Titahi Bay in Porirua may still be alive.

More than 40 people are searching for a diver missing near Titahi Bay, Porirua, since last night.

Navy divers using sophisticated sonar equipment have begun an attempt to find the body of teenage boy presumed dead after a jetski accident.