Relief as death toll remains steady

Flooded houses in the suburb of New Farm in Brisbane. Photo / Getty Images

No bodies have been found in a mass of cars washed under the Grantham rail bridge where authorities feared they would find several people dead.

But the search continues in the small towns in the Lockyer Valley, west of Brisbane, where a number of people are still unaccounted for.

The official death toll from the Queensland floods remains at 15.

State disaster co-ordinator Ian Stewart said the outcome at the Grantham rail bridge was good news.

"All the vehicles have been removed and we've had police divers check the remaining water hole under the bridge," he told reporters this afternoon.

"I'm happy to say no further deceased persons were found as the result of this search.

"That is very, very good news at this time."

He said the search of the Grantham rail bridge had been a priority because of the reports of the number of cars there, but the systematic search of other areas was continuing and could take some time.

"We have a large number of police, SES and ADF members now in that area, right now, continuing to search," he said.

"It has to be a methodical search that is undertaken of all of the farm houses, of all of the creek beds that exist right through that whole Lockyer system.

"This is obviously going to take some time."

He urged people to notify authorities if they had located loved ones so that police could cross them off their list of the missing.

"If you have reported a friend or relative missing or if they are safe ring same authority you registered them with."

Earlier on Thursday, authorities confirmed the deaths of three men - one at Grantham, one at Myall Creek and one at Durack, Brisbane's first fatality of the disaster.

Fears shift to Goondiwindi

Queensland authorities are increasingly concerned that the border town of Goondiwindi will be the next flashpoint of the state's three-week flood disaster, with fears the Macintyre River will breach its levee.

"Goondiwindi is heading for a record flood of at least 10.85 metres, but is in fact very possibly going to be higher," Premier Anna Bligh told reporters this afternoon.

"With a levee bank of 11m we are now very concerned and watching very carefully."

She said authorities would get a reading upstream at Kildonan at 4pm AEST(7pm NZT) that would indicate if pre-emptive measures were needed to secure the safety of the hospital and aged care home.

Evacuations of some of the 6000 residents of Goondiwindi may also be needed.

Ms Bligh said the Kildonan reading would give authorities about six hours to take action before the waters move to Goodiwindi from Kildonan.

"We have a situation potentially developing in Goondiwindi, we have people furiously monitoring the water and trying to get an assessment.

"We already know it's going to be a record water level. The question now is whether that record will go over the edge of the levee bank."

- AAP