The sounds of drills, saws and hammers have echoed through Quang Phan's home since floodwaters receded.
His home in Oxley, south of Brisbane, is being worked over as the clean-up begins in ex-tropical cyclone Alfred's wake.
Rain has eased and emergency alerts downgraded in southeast Queensland and northern NSW after days of wild weather.
But some may recover sooner than others with flooding still impacting communities and about 80,000 homes without power late on Tuesday.
Looking around his home, recovery may take some time for Mr Phan.
Ruined cabinets, mattresses and couches lay outside waiting to be collected.
Floodwaters inundated the bottom floor of the family home.
Mr Phan's mother was still hoping to salvage a beloved sewing machine from the home she shared with her son and his wife.
"We watched the cyclone move over Moreton Island and drop to a category one and we were happy," Mr Phan told AAP.
"Then the heavy rain started and everything changed."
Rainfall totals in southeast Queensland since ex-cyclone Alfred's weekend arrival reached almost 1200mm in some areas.
Brisbane was inundated by almost 280mm on Monday alone - the city's biggest 24-hour total in more than 50 years.
Mr Phan's family quickly relocated to the home's second storey, watching helplessly as floodwaters inundated their suburb.
Light-brown mud coated the road outside the home on Tuesday, with a stench emanating throughout Oxley along with the sound of pressure hoses.
It marked the third time since 2011 Mr Phan's property suffered major flooding.
"This time we get through it easily, but who knows next time," he said.
Damage assessments have begun with residents forced to evacuate starting to return to their homes after a wet week that featured scores of rescues and record rainfall.
"Rivers are receding and the threat of heavy rainfall is disappearing ... with that comes the step towards recovery," Queensland Premier David Crisafulli said.
Flood warnings remain across the region with many roads and some towns impacted as the full extent of Alfred's damage began to be assessed on Tuesday.
Two water treatment plants are offline north of Brisbane.
Gold Coast Mayor Tom Tate on Tuesday revealed "80 per cent of our beach is gone" due to coastal erosion.
In northern NSW, there was still some riverine flooding after the State Emergency Service responded to more than 7000 incidents and almost 90 flood rescues since Alfred hit the coast days ago.
About 1000 SES volunteers remain in Queensland on standby with army personnel also assisting.
Lockyer Valley, west of Brisbane, was among those mopping up after Laidley's CBD was inundated.
Ipswich, west of Brisbane, was also affected, with the Bremer River falling short of major flood levels.
Police were investigating reports of a woman entering floodwater near a West Ipswich bridge on Tuesday afternoon, and later said she was found safe and well.
Southeast Queensland began to reset with supermarkets reopening and looking to restock shelves after panic buying stripped shelves bare.
More schools are expected to reopen and all of Brisbane's bus services will be available from Wednesday.
Showers are set to continue to ease across Queensland's southeast and northern NSW with thunderstorms a chance in some inland areas.
Releases from Somerset and Wivenhoe Dams will begin in the southeast but are not expected to add to downstream flooding, Seqwater said
In NSW, residents began returning home as evacuation orders were lifted.
Meanwhile, state-federal personal hardship assistance was extended to more impacted communities on Tuesday.
