Cyclone Debbie: Third person dies as flood crisis continues for NSW and Queensland
A major clean-up operation is expected to begin in northern NSW on Monday (AAP: Dave Hunt)
Residents have been warned the deadly flood situation left by ex-Cyclone Debbie is not over in New South Wales and Queensland, as the clean-up continues.
There have been three flood-related deaths across NSW and Queensland; one near Murwillumbah and another in the Hunter region of NSW, and another at Eagleby near Logan in south-east Queensland.
The body of a 44-year-old man was also found on Saturday at a caravan park in flood-affected South Murwillumbah, but police say they cannot confirm if the death is flood-related.
NSW Premier Gladys Berejikilian has urged residents bracing for further devastation in flood-affected areas to heed SES warnings.
"They're there to protect life, and everybody: if you think something looks safe, you cannot underestimate what's going on below the surface," she said.
Ms Berejikilian said she was "anxious" to get to flood-affected areas in the state's north on Monday, but urged residents not to return to their homes until directed.
"It's not safe to ask anybody to return to their homes," she said.
The Premier is urging people to heed safety warnings. (Supplied: Pete Murray)
More than 30,000 people remain under flood evacuation orders on the NSW far north coast.
NSW SES Commissioner Mark Smethurst said emergency services had been "flat out" with more than 400 rescues in the flood-affected areas.
"Most of those flood rescues were from people trapped in their own buildings who did not heed the warnings when they were told to evacuate," he said.
"It's been a real problem up here, and certainly a concern to all the emergency services that have been working together."
Lismore is one of the worst-affected areas in New South Wales. (ABC North Coast: Samantha Turnbull)
Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull said ex-Cyclone Debbie and its subsequent flooding emergencies had put a strain on resources.
"We can't stop the cyclones or the floods coming. But we are planning for them and responding to them better than ever," he said.
The main areas affected in New South Wales have been around Murwillumbah and in Lismore, where flooding broke the previous records of 2001 and 2005.
Wilsons River at Lismore peaked at about 11.6 metres at about midday on Friday and, according to the Bureau of Meteorology, was still at about 8.9 metres with moderate flooding at 10:00pm on Saturday.
The towns of Wyrallah and Coraki on the Richmond-Wilson river system have now experienced peak flood waters, with the danger moving south to Woodburn.
The Richmond River has risen nearly four metres at Woodburn, with water levels expected to peak overnight.
While the danger from flood waters continues, the Bureau of Meteorology's Jake Phillips said the rain was abating.
"I think the heaviest falls we may see tomorrow [Sunday] is a few spots along the coastal fringes, mostly in the order of 5-10 millimetres and now it's just a matter of cleaning up after the floods."
'It took everyone by surprise'
As flood waters begin to recede at Murwillumbah some local residents have returned to face the devastation that has been left behind.
Rod Smalling, who was evacuated on Thursday, said he had left his truck parked on higher ground thinking it would be safe, but came back to find it had been swept up in the water and left crushed under a bridge.
"It's picked it up like a big esky and just whipped it across the road," he said.
"We've been up here for a while and we've never seen anything like this — [it] took everyone by surprise — it came up really fast and it went down almost as fast."
The Pacific Highway flooded at Chinderah. (ABC News: Natasha Johnson)
Adrian Moore was planning to sell his house but it became submerged and he now has a big clean-up on his hands.
"It's a rotten mud smell, it's just not nice, if it dries you try to clean it off, it's terrible," he said.
Emergency services called on communities in Lismore and Murwillumbah to stay safe as floodwaters began to recede.
Becky Gollings from the NSW SES said emergency services were still trying to contact all the people who put in calls for help.
"We certainly are concerned for people's safety when they haven't evacuated when we have issued those evacuation orders," she said.
"With the latest tragic events that have unfolded we do have those grave concerns, but certainly we'll just work as hard as we can to get through to those people and help them as quickly as we can."
The Pacific Highway — the major road linking New South Wales and Queensland — has been re-opened after it was cut off by flood water at Chinderah.
But traffic was moving slowly, with dozens of vehicles lined up since yesterday.
Traffic was moving slowly on the Pacific Highway. (ABC News: Natasha Johnson)
Body pulled from floodwaters in Eagleby
The emergency caused by ex-Cyclone Debbie has also continued in south-east Queensland, with thousands of residents fleeing parts of Logan, Beaudesert and the northern Gold Coast, as the Albert and Logan rivers rose and inundated homes and businesses.
The body of 77-year-old Nelson Raebel has been pulled from floodwaters at Eagleby, south of Brisbane.
He was found by emergency crews about 3:50pm not far from where he was seen last seen on Friday at Eagleby Road.
The Albert River is going down — but yesterday reached its highest levels since the 1974 floods in Brisbane.
According to the Bureau of Meteorology, as of 9:00pm on Saturday the Logan River was nearing a peak of 10.4 metres at Waterford — after reaching more than 15 metres at Beaudesert on Friday — and was expected to begin falling slowly overnight into Sunday.
Thousands of residents have fled parts of Logan, Beaudesert and the northern Gold Coast. (ABC News: Matt Roberts)
Logan Mayor Luke Smith said it still posed a serious threat, with water levels expected to stay elevated for another 24 to 48 hours.
"We're anticipating 323 properties right across the city that will have had some kind of flooding — 211 homes that will be inundated — but of course it's wait and see," he said.
"We're just asking people to get to high ground and stay there and be with your family, go out to someone who you know or go to one of our evacuation centres."
At 7:30pm AEST, Energex said about 12,500 properties in south-east Queensland remained without power, most of them on the Sunshine Coast, which was hard hit when ex-Cyclone Debbie moved through on Thursday night.
At the height of the wild weather, more than 700 powerlines were knocked out in the south-east, leaving more than 160,000 properties blacked out.
Energex spokesman Ty Marega said repair crews were making steady progress but floodwaters were making access difficult and more than 22,000 properties were still without power.
"As and when it's safe to do so, our crews are getting through landslips and collapsed bridges to the south of Brisbane," he said.
Cyclone Debbie has left a trail of destruction through the north Queensland coast. (ABC News: Josh Bavas)
Rockhampton facing biggest flood in 60 years
Moving further north to central Queensland, Rockhampton residents have been told to prepare for the city's worst flood since 1954, with the Fitzroy River predicted to peak at 9.4 metres on Wednesday.
Hundreds of people are likely to evacuate and the airport is expected to shut by Monday when the Fitzroy River reaches 8.7 metres.
Authorities are expecting up to 3,000 homes could be affected and 1,500 businesses, with Queensland Fire and Emergency Services (QFES) saying residents would need to spend the next few days preparing.
The Fitzroy River is predicted to reach its highest level in more than 60 years at peak on Wednesday. (ABC News: Katherine Gregory)
North Queensland clean-up moves to remote communities
In north Queensland, cyclone-affected residents in Bowen and Airlie Beach were told to boil their tap water before drinking it, as it could contain bacteria, while the clean-up continued.
The category-four storm tore through the north Queensland coast on Tuesday.
The army was expected to move on from some towns in the Whitsundays region, after arriving to help with cyclone recovery efforts two days ago.
About 270 soldiers from Townsville's 3rd Brigade were helping clear debris and distributed more than 20,000 litres of drinking water in towns, including Airlie Beach.
Soldiers have distributed more than 20,000 litres of drinking water in cyclone-hit towns. (AAP: Dan Peled)
Commanding Officer Lieutenant Colonel Jen Harris expected the teams would leave Bowen and then Proserpine soon after, before shifting the focus to more remote communities.
Premier Annastacia Palaszczuk, who was in the region to see how the clean-up was progressing, said 270 homes had been left unliveable and evacuation centres had opened in Bowen, Proserpine and Airlie Beach for those who had lost their homes.
Ergon Energy said about 37,000 customers were still without power in the region.
Evacuation centres have opened in Bowen, Proserpine and Airlie Beach for those who have lost their homes. (ABC News: Jonathan Hair)