South-east Queensland is set to be battered with heavy rain overnight as several councils issue emergency alerts amid a deteriorating weather forecast from the Bureau of Meteorology (BOM).
Thousands of residents across the south-east corner have been told to prepare for flash flooding as the BOM warns severe weather is expected to hit in the next 24 to 48 hours.
The BOM said a severe weather system remained over Queensland's south-east coast, with up to 300 millimetres of rain expected at the Sunshine Coast and Gold Coast hinterland ranges over the next 24 hours.
Brisbane and nearby Redlands City Council have issued emergency alerts asking residents to prepare for significant rainfall, severe storms and possible flash flooding.
Further north, the Gympie, Noosa and Fraser Coast Councils have also issued emergency alerts, warning residents to secure their belongings and stay off the roads where possible.
The North Burnett Regional Council has urged locals in Biggenden and Dallarnil to prepare to evacuate if conditions worsen.
A major flood warning remains in place for the Macintyre River, which is expected to reach the major flood level of more than 8.5m on Saturday evening at Goondiwindi, with further rises possible.
The BOM's Pieter Claassen said up to 300 millimetres was possible in some areas.
"We are likely to see the weather deteriorate around south-eastern Queensland including Brisbane later on this evening, as a low-pressure system tracks southwards towards south-eastern Queensland," he said on Saturday afternoon.
"There's a risk of widespread heavy rainfall, so looking at 24-hour totals in the 100 to 150mm range for Brisbane in the next 24 to 36 hours or so, with isolated of 300 millimetres possible."
"Our main concerns here are related to flash flooding, including very dangerous flash flooding, as well as local flooding of things like creeks and tributaries in south-eastern Queensland.
"We're not expecting any significant flooding in the Brisbane River itself but just those creeks and tributaries around that may see some rises with this rainfall."
"This event isn't likely to be too long-lasting, so largely expecting easing by early Monday, which is at least some good news."
Brisbane Lord Mayor Adrian Schrinner said the alert sent to Brisbane residents was at advice only and people, particularly in low-lying areas, should prepare now.
Elderly woman 'extremely lucky' to escape floodwaters
Queensland police said an 85-year-old woman was "extremely lucky" to have been rescued from her vehicle after she tried to drive through a flooded causeway at Bauple on the Fraser Coast on Friday afternoon.
Chief Superintendent Christopher Stream said rescuers had to smash through the rear window of her car to free her.
"In some cases where vehicles have electronic locking systems … rescuers have to smash a rear window to extract that person," he said.
"Not only are they situations where you are placing yourself and passengers at risk … you are also putting emergency responders at risk."
Chief Superintendent Stream said motorists who ignored road closure signs and drove through floodwaters would be fined "several hundred" dollars.
"It's very, very difficult for us to legislate against stupidity, but … again we see people ignore those warnings," he said.
"We're basically pleading with motorists to heed the warnings that are being issued … to stay out of flooded waters."
It comes as the BOM's Rosa Hoff said the deluge was expected to continue into next week.
"It won't be going anywhere quickly," she said.
"We're likely to continue to see some shower and storm activity about south-east parts, all the way through to at least Monday, and likely on Tuesday as well."
Thousands receive emergency alerts
Meanwhile, the Fraser Coast Regional Council has put out thousands of emergency alerts to residents warning them to stay home amid the risk of flash flooding.
Areas around the Fraser Coast, including nearby Tin Can Bay, received close to 300mm of rain overnight.
Mayor George Seymour said the council had spoken to emergency services and preparation were in place.
"So it's really watch-and-see but we are ready," he said.
"We've sent out last night text messages to over 180,000 phones on the Fraser Coast alerting them to the situation and pointing them to the direction of the Fraser Coast disaster dashboard, which is the central collection of all the information they need."
"We've seen flash flooding on roads, which is dangerous, and we're expecting some further advice from the Bureau of Meteorology later this morning about possible flooding of the Mary River," he said.
"That's still just a potentiality, so at the moment we're most concerned about the conditions on the road and getting to people who are raising alerts with the state emergency services."
Mr Seymour advised motorists to drive carefully and to stay home if possible.
"We've been through four floods this year with the Mary River, so if it happens again, we're very, very well prepared."
As the system moves south, the BOM said parts of south-east Queensland may see falls of up to 150mm.
Scenic Rim Mayor Greg Christensen said that amount of rain could cause significant difficulties on roads in his region.
"Depending on how intense that rainfall is, if that happens in intensities of 40mm an hour or more for any period of time, we'll start to see significant flooding in any of the catchments because they're all so charged at the moment," he said.
Noosa Shire Council Mayor Clare Stewart said there had been no major incidents and council was ready to take action should conditions deteriorate.
More than 200 emergency calls for help
QFES said they had received more than 157 calls for assistance since 5am Friday.
Two swift-water rescues were carried out in Bauple on the Fraser Coast on Friday afternoon.
Stranded passengers in a vehicle were assisted after they lost road access.
QFES state coordinator Tony Johnstone said emergency services had bolstered crews in case the weather conditions deteriorate.
"We're putting extra crews on shift … A lot of our volunteers are ready to go when they get the call so they've altered their day's activities," he said.
"We're constantly watching the weather patterns so we are probably the best prepared that we can do until things fall on the ground.
"How fast it will move to the coast will depend on where the water is going to go and what catchment is going to be affected."
Mr Johnstone told residents to heed road closure signs and stay home.
"When a road is closed and a sign's up, it's there for a reason — it's there for people's safety. Don't go around it because you may become a casualty," he said.
QFES has received 59 calls for assistance since 5am on Saturday, with most of them coming from the Fraser Coast region.
A hazardous surf warning remains in place for the Fraser Island Coast, Sunshine Coast and Gold Coast waters, with Coolum, Maroochydore and Dicky beaches all closed.
