After days of intense rainfall, another 400 to 500 millimetres has been forecast for Queensland's central coast, with Mackay and Mirani bracing for early-morning flooding on Tuesday.
It prompted Mackay Regional Council to put out a watch and act emergency alert at 7.30pm on Monday fore residents in Cremorne.
"The Pioneer River affecting Cremorne is expected to peak causing moderate flooding on Tuesday around 7am," the alert reads.
The latest severe weather warning from the Bureau of Meteorology said another round of 24-hourly totals between 400mm and 500mm were possible.
Senior meteorologist Dean Narramore said there was increasing concern for communities at Mackay up to Bowen and adjacent inland areas.
"Heavy rainfall is likely to lead to flash and riverine flooding through tonight and into tomorrow," he said.
"Since 9.00 [Monday] morning, rain has continued to fall in this area and we've now seen 100 to 200 millimetres in and around that Proserpine area and also in the mountains to the west of Mackay.
"This rainfall is likely to continue into tonight."
The BOM said the surface trough and low-pressure system driving the rain was stalling over Queensland's central coast and was expected to remain in place until Wednesday.
Mackay's Local Disaster Management Group had stood up on Monday afternoon.
Mayor Greg Williamson said major flooding was expected on the Pioneer River at Mirani early Tuesday, while a high tide in Mackay at 7:00am was likely to bring moderate flooding.
Cr Williamson said the Pioneer River was not expected to break its banks at Mirani.
"Even though it's a major flood forecast, we do not expect it to break its banks," he said.
He warned residents in the Mackay area not to park their cars in table drains around the city and to also avoid driving in the area on Tuesday morning.
Fourteen sandbagging sites have been set up for Mackay and Pioneer Valley residents.
Both Eungella Dam and Teemburra Dam, west of Mackay, had exceeded 100 per cent capacity and began spilling excess water Monday afternoon.
Since Saturday, parts of the Whitsundays had received the heaviest falls, with Proserpine recording more than 590 millimetres as of Monday.
The State Emergency Service received 36 calls for help in Mackay, including from Gerri Kissner after part of her ceiling collapsed.
"I was sitting on the lounge with my gorgeous 17-year-old cat and we heard this enormous crash," she said.
"At first you don't believe it's happening ... I'm usually calm in these situations, what else can you do?"
The Pioneer Valley had unofficial totals of 700 millimetres since Friday, with landslips along the Eungella Range Road.
Warren Swadling, who runs the Platypus Bushcamp at Finch Hatton, said he asked campers to leave the area on Thursday but was continuing to receive inquiries.
"There was 176 [mm] on Saturday morning, 276.5 Sunday morning, 240.5 this morning and that gives you a total of 691.5," he said.
There has also been widespread flooding in the north, with the Don River at Bowen now a large body of water.
Grazier Ralph Cox, who runs Goorganga Homestead near Proserpine, said he was prepared for the rain.
"We've had plenty of notice that it was coming ... we opened a few gates and let the cattle come up to higher ground," he said.
"They'll want to start moving around in a day or so they'll get sick of it and start walking around ... it's a bit of a concern if they get on the highway."
SES controller Alex McPhee said the region had coped well despite hundreds of millimetres of rain falling in just a few days.
"The drainage systems are working well, we get some localised flooding but as soon as the tide goes out the localised flooding goes out with the tide, so it's been not too bad," he said.
Mr McPhee said the majority of call outs had been for leaking roofs.
"Sadly some of it's due to poor maintenance and things like that and people not looking after their roofs throughout the year and when it does start to rain that's when the problems start to occur," he said.
Wet weather heads west
Barcaldine Regional Council workers are assessing damage caused by isolated falls of more than 450mm near Jericho in western Queensland.
Mayor Sean Dillon said families were isolated, livestock was trapped, and all traffic had been stopped on outback roads since Wednesday.
"In that area, where it's fallen, it looks like a lot of devastation, to be honest," he said.
"The first 250mm was great and then to keep receiving it has just stripped literally dozens, if not hundreds of kilometres [of roads].
He said a lot of soil had been lost.
"Out in the paddocks we've got lots of cattle in a bit of trouble, they're falling through the surface, they're bogging," he said.
Cr Dillon said there would be livestock losses and years of repair work ahead.
"We've seen videos sent through by chopper pilots of a section of road over five kilometres long just completely destroyed — as in washed out more than a meter deep, the full width of the road," he said.
"We'll be several days, weeks cataloguing that and months, if not years in totally restoring that area."
