Watch the Brisbane River rise due to the ongoing flooding problems around the state.
QUEENSLAND is a state tormented by water. In Bundaberg and other towns, thousands of people remain homeless. In Brisbane, residents face running out of water because of flood-related problems at the city's largest treatment plant.
7.03pm: Floodwaters are dropping slowly in Logan, south of Brisbane.
Logan Mayor Pam Parker says eight homes in Logan Reserve have had water through them, 7500 are without power, and about 200 residents in the suburb of Buccan are isolated.
5.35pm: Bundaberg police have sent a helicopter to catch looters in some flooded areas.
Looters were spotted in kayaks and tinnies roaming around abandoned houses about 5pm.
At this stage , it is not known which areas of Bundaberg have been affected by looting.
A car being pulled from Sandy Creek between Gatton and Laidley. Picture courtesy Channel 9.
3.13pm: THE death toll in the Queensland floods has risen to six with the discovery of a second body in the Lockyer Valley, west of Brisbane, on Wednesday.
The body of a 34-year-old man was found in a car submerged in Sandy Creek at Glen Cairn, near Gatton, on Wednesday morning.
The body of a 25-year-old man was found nearby by police divers several hours later.
Their cars were swept off the road by floodwaters as the two men drove from Gatton to Mulgowie to start work at a farm at 5am on Sunday.
Three other men have died in floodwaters and a three-year-old boy died after a tree fell on him in Brisbane.
Robert Holtzberger returns to his Glenforest, Bundaberg, home for the first time after flooding. PIC: Paul Beutel
Police media could not confirm the reports.
3pm: ABOUT seven suburbs of Brisbane remain at risk of running out of water as authorities work to bring a major water treatment plant back online.
The Mt Crosby Water Treatment plant is still operating at less than 50 per cent capacity.
It has put some suburbs in Brisbane's southern suburbs at risk of running dry.
Premier Campbell Newman confirmed water consumption had risen since a warning was issued yesterday for residents to conserve water, but would not speculate on whether panicked residents were stockpiling water.
"If people had continued to use water at the normal rate that is where there could have been potential, and there still remains potential, for taps to run dry," Mr Newman said.
Governor General Quentin Bryce visits Bundaberg Hospital evacuee June Roberts with Premier Campbell Newman and his wife Lisa Newman. Picture: Philip Norrish
He urged residents not to panic buy bottled water, saying bottled water supplies had been positioned around Brisbane should the town water supply run out.
A total 210 Australian Defence Force soldiers are on their way to Bundaberg, where further evacuations are taking place.
Extra police have also been stationed around flooded towns to stop looters raiding shops.
2.40pm: PREMIER Campbell Newman has announced a flood appeal committee to oversee the distribution of disaster relief funds.
The committee will be headed by former deputy premier Terry Mackenroth.
Members will include State MP Liz Cunningham and Local Government Association of Queensland Greg Hallam.
Pallets of bottled water are waiting at sites in Brisbane's south, guarding against a possible shortfall in public supplies. Picture: Britt Vonow
Mr Newman promised the delays that dogged the 2011 disaster relief funding distribution would not occur.
"Australians can be absolutely confident every dollar donated to this appeal will get to people in need," he said
It comes after the Commonwealth Bank donated $500,000 to the appeal and the ANZ Bank $400,000.
2pm: THE recovery operation has begun in Bundaberg as some residents return to their homes for the first time to survey damage.
Police patrols have also been stepped up to prevent looting, after some unconfirmed reports of people on boats stealing from flooded homes.
Tens of thousands of people in the region are believed to have been affected by flooding, including smaller towns like Winfield, Yandaran and Eidsvold.
Cathy Kable of Little Darlings childcare centre is concerned about running short of water. Picture: Brittany Vonow
The water in Bundaberg continues to recede at the rate of about 100mm to 150mm an hour, after peaking at a record 9.5m yesterday.
Police minister Jack Dempsey said the operation had shifted into recovery mode.
But authorities are urging displaced residents not to return home until they have been given the all clear because of the dangers.
Solar powered homes are considered an electrical risk.
A recovery centre has been established at the Wide Bay TAFE and at Bargara.
About 200 defence force personnel are anticipated to arrive today to help with the recovery.
THE possibility of restricted supply has prompted a rush on bottled water at Brisbane supermarkets, leaving shelves empty in some areas. PIC: Brittany Vonow.
The Don Tallon bridge over the Burnett River has been damaged at the northern access and will remain closed for two weeks.
The main Burnett Bridge to North Bundaberg will be assessed for structural integrity.
1.05pm: WATER tankers have been brought in to three southside Brisbane hospitals to guard against fire if local water supplies break down.
A spokesman for Queensland Health Minister Lawrence Springborg said a fire pump was also moving between the Princess Alexandra, QEII and Logan hospitals for use, if necessary.
Plans for the possibility of having to fight a fire at one of the hospitals had to be made after concerns about a potential disruption to the water supply.
Pallets of bottled water are waiting at sites in Brisbane's south, guarding against a possible shortfall in public supplies. Picture: Britt Vonow
The Mt Crosby Water Treatment Plant has not been operating at full capacity due to the amount of mud in pre-treated water as a result of the flood.
Brisbane residents have been asked to only use water for essential purposes - drinking, cooking, bathing and the toilet.
1.04pm: THE recovery operation has begun in Bundaberg as some residents return to their homes for the first time to survey the damage.
Police patrols have also stepped up to prevent looting, after some unconfirmed reports of people on boats stealing from flooded homes.
Tens of thousands of people in the region are believed to have been affected by flooding, including smaller towns like Winfield, Yandaran and Eidsvold.
The water in Bundaberg continues to recede at the rate of about 100mm to 150mm an hour, after peaking at a record 9.5m yesterday.
A man comforts his daughter on their roof as they inspect damage to their neighbourhood in Bundaberg. Picture: Chris Hyde/Getty Images
Police minister Jack Dempsey said the operation had shifted into recovery mode.
But authorities are urging displaced residents not to return home until they have been given the all-clear.
Solar powered homes are considered an electrical risk.
A recovery centre has been established at the Wide Bay TAFE and Bargara.
The Don Tallon bridge over the Burnett River has been damaged at the northern access and will remain closed for two weeks.
The main Burnett Bridge to North Bundaberg will be assessed for structural integrity.
Thousands of people across Queensland are spending the night in evacuation centres because of flooding.
1pm: A MAN'S body has been found in a car submerged in a flooded creek near Gatton this morning, police have confirmed.
The discovery at Sandy Creek brings the Queensland flood death toll to five.
Police are yet to identify the body but it is believed to belong to a Malaysian farm worker, 34, who, along with a Taiwanese man, has been missing since Sunday.
Police and SES volunteers launched a search of creek beds in the Lockyer Valley after the pair, who were travelling in separate cars from Gatton to Mulgowie, failed to turn up to work at a Mulgowie farm for work on Sunday.
A white 1997 Mitsubishi Magna, which police believe was being driven by the 25-year-old Taiwanese man, was also found in the same area yesterday afternoon but they are yet to find a sign of the man.
Police said SES crews will continue to search the area.
A Private ex army LARC takes to the streets of East Bundaberg to help evacuate people. Picture: Paul Beutel
Anyone with information which could assist in police is urged to contact Policelink on 131 444 or Crime Stoppers.
12.41pm: BRISBANE residents may notice a change in the taste of drinking water during the next 24 hours but authorities maintain it is still safe to drink.
SEQwater said the taste may vary as supplies are brought in from North Pine dam and water grid sources on the Gold and Sunshine coasts to supplement the Mt Crosby Water treatment plant, which still remains partially operational.
The water quality still meets Australian drinking water standards and does not need to be boiled before use.
A spokesperson from SEQwater has confirmed the Mt Crosby treatment plant has increased production from 100 megalitres per day up to 240 megalitres per day but cautioned we are not out of the woods yet.
Residents are still being urged to conserve water for essential purposes only for the next 48 hours.
A house that has been washed from its foundations. Picture: Paul Beutel
12.38pm: THE threat of water shortages have hit businesses including childcare centres.
Speaking from Little Darlings Early Development Centre in Mt Gravatt, director Cathy Kable said power outages had not affected the centre but water shortages were worrying.
"We've got little drinking containers, filled them and made sure we had boiled them all," she said.
"It's probably not enough if we do run out though."
With babies often needing a bath, thirsty children and cleaning regulations that must be met, Ms Kable said she was unsure how centres like hers would cope.
"We would have about half a day's supply here... unless parents start bringing in big bottles of water for their child to drink."
12.35pm: THE Weather Bureau has dispelled concerns of a new cyclone forming off the Queensland coast.
Forecaster Michelle Berry said television reports of a low off Cairns forming into a cyclone were incorrect.
The low was 1000km east of the Australian continent and moving away.
"This is absolute rubbish," Ms Berry said. "There is a very weak low pressure system there but there's nothing much to get it going.
"The chances of it forming up would be 5 per cent to 20 per cent and on the low end of that.
"Because it's moving east, there's every chance it will be in Fiji's area of responsibility on Friday."
Aerial view of Bundaberg during flood crisis. Picture: Mark Calleja
12.25pm: POLICE have confirmed five people have been charged with looting in Gympie in the wake of flooding.
A Mary St hairdressing salon was robbed when the store was accidentally left unlocked after staff worked to move belongings away from flood waters.
It is believed two teenage girls, aged 14 and 16, have been charged with looting, after they were allegedly caught stealing hair straighteners and products at 11.35pm on Sunday.
Three other young men were arrested and charged with looting and related offences after they allegedly entered the flooded Royal Hotel.
The men are expected to appear at Gympie Magistrates Court on February 25.
12.20pm: A BODY is believed to have been found in a creek near Gatton during the search for two missing men.
There are reports a body has been discovered in a second submerged car at Sandy Creek but police could not confirm this.
11.38am: LORD Mayor Graham Quirk is hopeful water supply issues will be resolved by close of business Thursday.
"There's no need for panic buying (of water) or panic actions, just plain and simple common sense and water conservation and we'll get through this without any issues," Cr Quirk said.
"At the moment we're holding."
Only one of Mt Crosby's two water treatment plants was working last night - and producing less water than usually capable of.
This morning, production levels had improved and the second plant was "online" but both plants could still fail, Cr Quirk said.
"Because of the quality of water going into those treatment plants they could shut down. That then would require a couple of hours of maintenance while filters are cleaned - that stops production," Cr Quirk said.
"So until we get a better quality of water flowing through, and we will as this mud and slush declines over time, we will then be able to increase the amount of water being supplied through that plant."
Dirty, soiled water from the Lockyer Valley coming down through the Bremer River is causing the current issues.
Meanwhile, Cr Quirk said that flooding in low lying areas was inevitable.
"The problem in low lying areas is that it's sometimes impossible to engineer your way out of those things," he said.
Cr Quirk said strong winds during the recent extreme weather event had done most of the damage in Brisbane.
In areas where power has been out for more than 48 hours, skip bins are available for people to dump spoiled food and green waste.
Also, opening hours at transfer stations have been extended so people can clear debris from their homes until Sunday night.
Find locations of the skip bins at brisbane.qld.gov.au
11.35am: GOVERNOR-GENERAL Quentin Bryce has arrived in Brisbane to visit critically ill patients airlifted from Bundaberg Hospital overnight.
Ms Bryce and Premier Campbell Newman are visiting Bundaberg patients at the Royal Brisbane and Women's hospital.
About 100 patients were airlifted from the Bundaberg Hospital overnight in a dramatic rescue as floodwaters lapped at the hospital's doors.
They were relocated to various hospitals around Brisbane.
Mr Newman was accompanied by his wife Lisa in the hospital visit.
He will provide an update on the flood disaster later today.
11.32am: FEDERAL Environment Minister Tony Burke should stop water from coal mines being released into Queensland's flooded waterways, environmentalists say.
Four BHP Mitsubishi Alliance mines in the Fitzroy River basin were last week allowed to carry out controlled releases of water in a pilot program announced by the state government last November.
But the Lock the Gate Alliance says at least 20 coal mines have released contaminated wastewater directly into rivers in Queensland since the floods began last week.
Alliance spokeswoman Ellie Smith said in some cases untreated water had been discharged directly from pollution ponds.
10.55am: SHOPPERS have rushed to supermarkets for water but have been left disappointed.
With reports that Brisbane could hit a water shortage by noon, supplies are selling out.
Holland Park West mother-of-three Andrea Mariot went to a Mt Gravatt supermarket, only to be confronted by empty shelves. "We still have water but we like to be prepared," she said.
Holland Park local Dawn Forester also went searching for water. "I think everyone panicked and bought water last night," she said.
Bottled water distribution points across Brisbane's south are not yet open.
10.35am: ABOUT 160 defence force personnel will arrive in Bundaberg today, followed by 100 more, to help begin the clean-up.
Army officers will hit the streets where water is starting to recede and check for dangers and structural damage.
Some are being deployed to outlying towns like Gayndah and Mundubbera.
10.20am: MOTORISTS have been told not to panic as rumours of fuel supply shortages spread across the state.
RACQ spokesperson Lauren Ritchie, said there are no reported fuel shortages at this stage and warns motorists not to stockpile fuel to allow priority for emergency services.
Petrol stations in Rockhampton through to Maryborough have experienced issues getting fuel into cut-off areas, but the RACQ confirmed supply trucks were just waiting for roads to re-open.
Ms Ritchie said fuel prices have so far remained stable and supply issues were expected to be rare.
10.11am: TRAINS from Beenleigh to Bethania have been suspended due to localised tidal flooding.
Queensland Rail is reporting that the line will be closed for several hours at least until the flood waters subside.
While this is not a major issue it will disrupt services on the Beenleigh and Gold Coast lines.
Trains are currently running from the CBD to Bethania, but passengers will need to transfer to buses after this point.
Delays of up to 30 minutes should be expected.
9.55am: WATER stations are being rolled out on Brisbane's southside but are yet to open as a possible water shortage looms.
It comes as Urban Utilities confirms water usage has gone up in the past 24 hours, putting more pressure on already critical levels
Around seven water stations have been set up by Queensland Urban Utilities.
Twelve pallets of bottled water have been waiting at a site at Camp Hill, guarded by a security guard and QUU worker.
Tarragindi local Chloe Jones arrived at the site in the hope of finding water but was turned away.
"We do have water at the moment but mum said it might run out by midday," she said.
"We haven't had power since Saturday."
But luckily the Jones family is living on a street partially hit by the power outages and have been helped by a kind neighbour who still has power.
"He's keeping our fridge... but otherwise we've been having barbecues," she said.
More locals have come for water but have had to be turned away.
It is unknown when or if the water stations will be opened.
9.23am: QUEENSLAND citrus growers have lost hundreds of millions of dollars, with some orchards entirely wiped out by flooding, one grower says.
Judy Shepherd, the secretary of the Gayndah and District Fruit Growers Association, says damage in the town and surrounding fruit orchards has been catastrophic.
She said the latest flood is the third natural disaster in recent years and she's afraid many growers won't recover.
As well, some citrus orchards had been completely wiped out, parts of others had simply dropped into the Burnett River and the infrastructure damage was enormous.
"We've heard of some that have gone," she told ABC television.
She said the impact on the region, particularly Gayndah and Mundubbera, would be severe and long-lasting.
"Catastrophic - hundreds of millions of dollars damage just in the citrus industry," she said.
8.30am: THIRTY SES volunteers will join police today searching creek banks in the Lockyer Valley region for two men who failed to turn up to work on Sunday.
Grave concerns are held for the pair after a car was found fully submerged in flood waters near Gatton yesterday.
Police investigating the disappearance said one man is a Malaysian national and the other is Taiwanese.
They were both on a working holiday to Queensland, living in Gatton, though it is not clear if they knew each other.
It is understood the men had been contracted to work at Mulgowie through a labour hire company at least two months ago.
Police said the men had left Gatton for work at Mulgowie Farming about 5am on Sunday but failed to arrive.
They were travelling in separate cars and it is not known if they were travelling in convoy.
A Mitsubishi Magna, which the 34 year-old man was driving, was retrieved from flooded Sandy Creek, near Glen Cairn, on Tuesday.
Police are still searching for the 25-year-old man's Toyota Camry, which has a registration number of 425RWU.
The area being scoured is north of Glen Cairn, and through the Lockyer Valley, though exact perimeters are unclear.
Crews will concentrate on the creek bank surrounds where the vehicle was found and three possible routes the missing car could have travelled between Gatton and Mulgowie.
Police could not estimate the height of the water level at 5am Sunday, only saying the causeway was likely among the first areas to flood.
Anyone with information should contact police or Crime Stoppers on 1800 333 00.
7.46am: SUBURBS on Brisbane's southside could run out of water by 9am (AEST) on Wednesday, authorities are warning.
Flooding in the Brisbane River catchment has caused major problems at a water treatment plant at Mt Crosby.
It's partially back on line, but full restoration won't happen for another day and a half and reservoirs that service some southside suburbs are running very low, Premier Campbell Newman said on Wednesday.
Supplies of bottled water had been positioned on the southside in case supplies ran out on Wednesday morning, Mr Newman said.
"If any reservoir runs dry, we'll be immediately providing that for distribution to local areas," he told ABC television.
"This is very serious."
He said residents across Brisbane and Ipswich must limit water use to the necessities of drinking, bathing and cleaning until the treatment plant was back on line.
7.45am: SUPPLY of drinking water to Brisbane remains tight, but SEQwater expects the situation to improve throughout the morning.
Mike Foster from SEQwater said supplies were unlikely to run out as long as consumption does not increase.
"People should only use water for essential purposes only, if they stick to this message we should not run into any issues", he said.
Mr Foster said increased water production was looking better this morning as the first of the scheduled water flushes from Wivenhoe Dam reduced turbidity levels at the Mt Crosby treatment plant overnight.
SEQwater have confirmed residents do not need to boil water before drinking as it still meeting Australian drinking water guidelines.
"We have no issue with water quality; it's quantity that's the issue. People can be very confident about the quality of the water being produced", he said.
SEQwater aims to increase production from 100 megalitres/day to 200 megalitres/day by 9am this morning but said there is no guarantee they will meet the target.
7.10am: ENERGEX says more than 70,000 homes and businesses in the southeast are still without power.
Of that, power has been lost to more than 18,200 properties in Brisbane and 12,600 on the Gold Coast.
An Energex spokeswoman said the goal was to reconnect the majority by 6pm today, though this was subject to access and whether there would be any significant rebuilds in the power network.
7.05am: BRISBANE households will have access to free green waste kerbside pickup from Monday, February 4, as the flood clean-up gets underway.
Residents will also be able to dispose of any spoiled food at one of 50 skip bins that are set to be placed around Brisbane.
Transfer stations will also be free for both green and general waste dumping, with hours extended until 9pm.
"While council crews have been urgently attending to hundred of cases of large trees down that are safety risks, we also understand that residents will be keen to start cleaning up the smaller leaf litter and branches strewn across their backyards and footpaths," Lord Mayor Graham Quirk said.
"Given the amount of damage I've given clear direction that council will undertake a free, one-off green waste pick up from Monday to lend residents a hand with their recovery.
"There's plenty of time to prepare for the clean-up, you just need to gather up any green waste, put it on the kerb outside your house and make sure you've got it out by Sunday night, it's that simple."
Cr Quirk is urging residents to be careful of "hidden dangers", including fallen powerlines and sharp objects, during the clean up.
He is also asking people to wait until the river "fully subsides" before trying to dismantle sandbags.
6.58am: TRAIN stations in Brisbane's inner-city that were previously closed have re-opened but commuters should expect delays.
At 6.55am, Translink said Central, Fortitude Valley and Bowen Hills stations are open, though not all platforms will operational.
They said services are running on all lines "at reduced frequency" and commuters could face delays.
Meanwhile, fares will be automatically adjusted on go cards over the coming days after ticketing issues from flooding and power loss.
Overnight, it was reported that Queensland's flood emergency was not over yet, with entire suburbs in Bundaberg to remain submerged until the weekend.
And, in Brisbane, about 60,000 people in seven Brisbane suburbs faced the grim prospect of having no water last night as engineers desperately tried to keep the city's main water treatment plant running.
Brisbane City Council has stockpiled 40,000 1-litre bottles of water as an emergency measure.
The Mt Crosby water treatment facility was shut down when ex-Tropical Cyclone Oswald's downpours choked it with muddy water from the Bremer and Brisbane rivers.
Sediment from a flooded Brisbane River overwhelmed the plant, causing water levels to plunge in hilltop reservoirs serving hundreds of thousands of people.
Supplier Queensland Urban Utilities last night warned that Tarragindi, Camp Hill, Carina North, Mount Gravatt, Tingalpa, Rocklea and Oxley were most at risk of running dry, but a spokesman said that it was "very unlikely".
Brisbane City Council was taking no chances, organising bottle drops to suburbs while water trucks were on standby in case taps ran dry.
Elective surgery and specialist outpatient appointments at three major southeast Queensland hospitals were suspended after water supply concerns.
Metro South Health CEO Richard Ashby said he was advised at 4pm yesterday of potential water supply problems because of the floods and had cancelled elective surgery and thousands of specialist outpatient appointments today at the Princess Alexandra, QEII and Logan hospitals.
Lord Mayor Graham Quirk last night described the water situation facing Brisbane, Logan, Ipswich, the Lockyer Valley, Redlands and the Scenic Rim as "critical".
He said there was a very real chance the taps could run dry by this morning if people did not urgently cut their usage to the essentials of drinking, cooking and washing themselves.
The crisis was sparked when the city's two main water treatment plants - at Mt Crosby in the upper reaches of the Brisbane River - had to be shut down yesterday due to silt levels in the water there being four times as thick as during the 2011 floods.
The Mt Crosby facility was at least partially back online last night, but water bottle drops and water trucks were being sent into southern suburbs as a precaution.
Until cleaner water being released from Wivenhoe Dam reaches the processing plants some time later in the week, water will have to be pumped into Brisbane from the Gold Coast and Sunshine Coast and a treatment plant at the North Pine Dam.
But that will only supply half the city's normal needs.
"I don't want panic, but I want a lot of common sense to apply over the next 48 hours," Cr Quirk said.
"We're through the flood but we're not out of this event at this stage."
Cr Quirk assured people that the water coming through the taps would remain safe to drink.
The water crisis was just one of many still facing a state last night reeling from its second flood disaster in two years.
While floodwaters began to recede across most of the state's south:
* Rockhampton residents were preparing for a flood roaring down the Fitzroy River, which is expected to hit at the weekend;
* Several communities remained cut off last night, including Mt Tamborine near the Gold Coast and a string of towns inland of Maryborough;
* Flood peaks in the Brisbane River were lower than expected, sparing most properties in Brisbane and Ipswich;
* In northern NSW, the town of Grafton came perilously close to being inundated by the surging Clarence River which peaked at a record level just 2cm below the town's levee;
* About 50,000 properties remain without power across the southeast, with 400 Energex crews repairing what has been the region's widest-ever blackout;
* Rail commuters were warned about the potential for further delays and cancellations today despite the majority of services expected to be up and running by this morning;
* Producer groups warned that food prices would rise as early estimates put the total damage bill in excess of $1 billion.
But Premier Campbell Newman said the major concern was still Bundaberg, where the situation remained serious and the Government was working with local authorities to ensure the thousands of evacuees had access to food, water and bedding.
Just over 10 per cent of the city's population has been flood-affected, with more than 2000 properties inundated and 7500 people forced out of their homes - 1500 of whom were sheltering in evacuation centres last night.
The Burnett River peaked yesterday afternoon at 9.5m, and is expected to remain high for up to four days.
Flying into the "rum city" yesterday, Mr Newman compared the sight of the bloated Burnett River with the Brisbane River in 2011.
"I've seen the city from the air," Mr Newman said.
"I've seen perhaps even more extraordinary sights than we saw two years ago in southeast Queensland, given the relative impact on Bundaberg.
"I've spoken to a number of people who've lost an awful lot, but they're not going to give up on this.
"They're not going to be crushed by this."
Holed up at the Bundaberg Civic Centre for the third day, mother-of-six Samantha Rechenberg was matter-of-fact about the situation.
"Our place is definitely flooded, but I didn't wait to see how badly. I didn't want to get evacuated off the roof," Ms Rechenberg said.
"We don't know what we'll find when we go back. Not much, I'm thinking."
Jolie Howard and partner Anthony Tynen were just as resigned to losing everything at their East Bundaberg house.
"Within half an hour of us being evacuated, the water was half way through the house," Mr Tynen said.
"My father's the one who owns the house, and it's all gone. The house is completely destroyed."
East Bundaberg Rotary Club member Marilyn Batty said volunteers were coming into the evacuation centre "all the time".
"Anybody who's dry is coming to help. We had 500 for breakfast this morning, and we're just going through clothes making sure everybody has clothes and toiletries," Ms Batty said. "People are rallying together; it's very good."
In flooded Water Street, Harvey Knapp was not about to let muddy ankle deep water force him out of his house.
"I slept there last night. It was alright. Think it's going to get smelly though," he said.
Local MP and Police and Emergency Services Minister Jack Dempsey, said the floodwater would take a while to recede which would reveal the extent of the damage, but
thanked emergency workers for their efforts and the Australian Defence Force which had helped rescue 94 people isolated at North Bundaberg on Monday night.
Mr Dempsey said the group had avoided evacuation to remain with their pets until they realised their own lives were in danger, and attracted the attention of rescue helicopters with torches.
Mr Newman said the ADF "saved the day" preventing the record flood turning into an even greater disaster.
"We did have a situation with fast rising floodwaters and people becoming very rapidly isolated on ever diminishing islands of ground," the Premier said.
Bundaberg Regional Mayor Mal Forman said he was encouraged by Mr Newman's offer of assistance, and buoyed by his visit.
The Premier requested all local governments to let the State Government know what help they needed to clean up and recover from the crisis.
"We'll be asking them to pull together the estimates of their damage," he said. '
"Often in these events people put out a figure far too early. I think we've got to get it right before we start talking about the numbers."
-- reporting by Robyn Ironside, Kathleen Donaghey, Kate McKenna, Kris Crane, Jacinda Tutty
