Hundreds of Gympie residents are being evacuated ahead of what is expected to be the worst flooding in more than two decades, and police have found the body of a man missing in the floodwaters.
The south-east Queensland city has been inundated with floodwater and Premier Annastacia Palaszczuk said up to 700 residents were being told to leave Saturday afternoon.
"[It's] a precaution, because we don't want people trapped in the evening," she said.
STAY UP-TO-DATE WITH THE QUEENSLAND FLOOD HEREPolice and SES crews will help with the evacuation.
Man's body found
The police dive squad has recorded the body of a 37-year-old man who was missing in floodwaters at Goomboorian, north-east of Gympie, on Friday night.
The man became stranded on Tin Can Bay Road about 10pm, before his vehicle was washed away.
His body was found on Saturday afternoon in Goomboorian.
'A hell of a lot of water'
As rain continued to fall overnight, the Bureau of Meteorology expected the water to keep rising higher than the February 1999 flood level of 21.95 metres.
Mayor Glen Hartwig said what height it would peak at was less clear.
"Because of the rain event and the manner in which things have fallen, it's a little bit unpredictable in terms of height," he said.
"We're in a little bit of uncharted waters."
Floodwaters continue to creep higher in Gympie's CBD.
"Gympie is accustomed to floods, but this is something out of the bag," Mr Hartwig said.
A significant number of businesses have been inundated.
"In some of the businesses like the Royal Hotel, mate, if you weren't in there without a submarine or a snorkel, you will not be having a beer," Mr Hartwig said.
"It's floor-to-ceiling and over the roof in some areas."
The Mary River rose to more than 20 metres at Gympie, with up to 415mm of rain falling in the Mary River catchment upstream of the town over the past 24 hours.
Mal Dodt has lived in Gympie for 51 years and has never seen anything like this.
"[I've] been through a few floods, but this flood feels a lot different with the speed that the water is rising," he said.
An emergency alert was sent to Gympie residents overnight, warning them to evacuate their properties and make sure their pets had appropriate shelter.
The council has opened an evacuation centre at the Gympie Civic Centre and the Gympie Showgrounds.
A severe weather warning remains in place for much of South East Queensland.
Dams at capacity
On Saturday morning, SEQ Water warned increased outflows from dams could create potentially life-threatening hazards downstream.
Borumba Dam, which flows into the Mary River upstream of Gympie, is at 143 per cent capacity and spilling into Yabba Creek.
East of the town, Cedar Pocket Dam is at 123 per cent capacity, and a further 292mm of rain fell there in the past 24 hours.
An emergency alert was issued for that catchment area on Friday.
Further upstream, Six Mile Creek — which also flows into the Mary River — is also at major flood level at Cooran, and further creek rises are expected. Lake Macdonald on Six Mile Creek received 350mm of rain in the past 24 hours and is at 163 per cent capacity.
Rural communities hit again
Beyond Gympie itself, flooding has affected rural communities that were devastated by flooding in January.
"The biggest impact is in the rural area where people are trying to earn a crust and make a living and have worked hard for the past six weeks," Mr Hartwig said.
Farmers at Goomeri, Tansy, Booubyjan and Woolooga lost fencing, livestock, feed and suffered major damage only weeks ago.
Mr Hartwig said it was "absolutely devastating" for flooding to hit twice in such a short space of time.
"They've been making repairs and trying to get their enterprise back to a place where they can start to turn over a dollar, and it's all washed down the creek again," he said.
