Queensland: Flood waters threaten city of Bundaberg

Andrew Rayer and his son Leonardo, watch the Burnett River as it floods. Photo / Mike Knott, Bundaberg NewsMail

BRISBANE - The southeast Queensland city of Bundaberg is braced for its highest flood peak in 50 years, with 200 people already evacuating their homes.

The State Emergency Service says 18 homes have already been inundated and there have been hundreds of calls for help from residents.

Hundreds of residents in low lying areas on the city's east side have already left their homes voluntarily, and more evacuations are expected.

The Bureau of Meteorology said the Burnett River was at 7.1m at 6am local time (8am NZT) and was expected to hit 7.5m later today, well above the 1954 record of 7.2m.

Bundaberg Deputy Mayor Tony Ricciardi told AAP the SES has been warning residents in danger spots that they need to be prepared to leave their properties.

"All our efforts are around Bundaberg city and that's where most of the damage could be from the peak flood," he said.

Premier Anna Bligh has cut short her holiday as some communities in southern and central regions deal with the worst flooding they've seen in half a century.

She'll be briefed by emergency services before heading to Bundaberg and Rockhampton later in the day.

Deputy Premier Paul Lucas will continue his tour of flooded communities, visiting Dalby and Warwick.

"While the weather conditions have thankfully eased in parts of Queensland, many communities remain at risk of flooding," Ms Bligh said in a statement today.

"Our priority is ensuring communities are prepared and that they are getting the support they need."

She said thoughts were also turning to the mop up effort, as waters recede in some places allowing damage assessments to begin.

Meanwhile, two defence force Black Hawk helicopters will today join efforts to get the last of the remaining residents out of the flooded town of Theodore, inland from Bundaberg.

Authorities decided to evacuate the town's entire population of 300 residents after the worst flood in living memory swamped everything except the local police station.

Banana shire council Mayor Maureen Clancy said both Black Hawks were expected to be in the air by noon.

About 250 residents were evacuated on Tuesday and operations would begin again before 8am (AEST), she told AAP.

"It was a slow process yesterday because it was a delicate situation to rescue the elderly and the people in hospital," Ms Clancy said.

Today's evacuations will include family pets after some residents refused to leave yesterday without them.

The residents are being flown to the neighbouring town of Moura, where they are being housed in the evacuation centre, hotels, and mining quarters.

Meanwhile, authorities have had to rescue two men from floodwaters at Cecil Plains near Dalby, west of Brisbane.

The men were rescued about 10pm after they drove through shallow water and the road suddenly dropped away, trapping their vehicle.

The men climbed onto the roof and were rescued by an SES boat.

Police have repeated warnings for motorists not to try to cross flooded roads after more than 80 swift water rescues since Christmas Eve.

- AAP