Prepare for 'unbearable stench', Queenslanders told

Flood water surrounds The Wheel in the suburb of South Bank in Brisbane, Australia. Photo / Getty Images

Health authorities and the grocery industry have warned residents returning to their homes after flood to bin tainted food.

They also have been warned to prepare for the "unbearable stench" that follows a flood.

Brisbane and other parts of Queensland have begun a massive clean-up as floodwaters recede.

Residents returning to their flooded homes have been told not to walk through stagnant water because it was almost certainly contaminated.

"The other thing that is important to do is to get rid of any food that has come into contact with floodwaters," Queensland Health chief Jeanette Young told ABC Television on Friday.

The same advice applied to food that had been in a refrigerator for more than 24 hours during power cuts.

"Because we don't want people to get food poisoning after everything else."

The Australian Food and Grocery Council provided the same advice.

"Anything that's being flood-affected, gone under water has to be thrown out," CEO Kate Carnell said.

"It's silly trying to resurrect anything ... we don't people getting sick as a result of eating tainted food."

Authorities are providing skips in suburban streets to take bags of tainted food.

Ms Young said it was important residents try to rid their homes of any floodwater as well.

"Once the water settles, mosquitoes will start breeding in that water," she said.

While the prospects for a mosquito plague are high, the likelihood of dengue fever is low.

"We don't usually see dengue south of Townsville and the floods have been Rockhampton south," Ms Young said.

"But we will see other mosquito-borne diseases."

Residents also should be wary of entering floodwaters if they had any nicks or cuts on them.

"They should cover them with the waterproof dressing if they absolutely have to go into floodwater," Ms Young said.

Premier Anna Bligh has warned Brisbane residents to be ready for the smell of the flood aftermath, something those living in the city in 1974 still remember.

"What the city has to prepare itself for ... is the unbearable stench," she said.

"The smell of it is just unspeakable and it smells like that because it has bad things in it."

- AAP