Floodwaters high after river peaks

The Brisbane River peaked at 4.6m this morning with residents warned there would be shocking scenes of devastation.

The Bureau of Meteorology had forecast that the Brisbane River would peak at 5.2 metres during this morning's high tide; however it later revised that to 4.6m.

Queensland Police advised about 8.30am NZT (5.30am local time) that the river had reached its peak.

Water levels would remain high for the rest of the day, they said. The floodwater was expected to slowly recede over the weekend.

Thirty-five suburbs are already underwater, and more suburbs were expected to be swallowed up by the river.

Queensland Premier Anna Bligh earlier warned residents they need to brace themselves for some devastating scenes.

"Places they love, the local school, their local park, parks of their neighbourhoods, their communities, their friends are affected and flooded completely out," she said.

'Completely unrecognisable'

Premier Bligh has flown over flood-stricken areas and said was too late for other parts of south-east Queensland.

"There are some parts of Brisbane and Ipswich which already are completely unrecognisable. There are parts particularly around Goodner and Gailes which just look like a large inland lake."

More than 115,000 Queensland homes were this morning without power. Power company Energex said around 78,000 of those properties were in Brisbane and another 30,000 in nearby Ipswich.

Police are advising people to stay out of the floodwaters as they contain debris and contaminants.

Sightseeing is also being discouraged and residents have been told to limit all non-essential travel.

Residents whose properties are expected to be affected by flooding should have self-evacuated either to the homes of family or friends, or to one of four evacuation centres in the city, police said.

Recovering the dead

Police working to recover bodies in the worst-hit area of flood-ravaged Queensland yesterday described scenes of heartbreak and devastation.

One officer in the Lockyer Valley, about 100km west of Brisbane, said the task of recovering the dead was "simply horrific".

"We are searching for in excess of 30 people and at this stage we are in a body-recovery phase," a police spokesman said.

"We are recovering numerous bodies from the river and are prepared to recover many more."

All of the confirmed deaths in this week's floods were in the Lockyer Valley and the nearby cities of Toowoomba and Ipswich.

The death toll rose to 13 overnight after a man's body was found in a submerged car in Ispwich.

Five of the deaths were in or near the small town of Grantham, which has a population of about 370.

Police and emergency services last night said the total number of missing people in the state was now 43, and grave fears were held for nine.

- staff reporter, Toowoomba Chronicle, NZ HERALD STAFF, NEWSTALK ZB

Watch live video of the Brisbane River in flood: