Bligh absorbs anger but urges patience

Queensland Premier Anna Bligh says most of the Brisbane suburbs without power should be reconnected by the end of the day.

The Premier pleaded with Queenslanders to be patient as they get back on their feet after the devastating floods, but says she's prepared to absorb their anger as they grieve.

The premier also says it is still only the beginning of the wet season and more massive downpours are likely with the weather bureau advising that five cyclones could be on their way over the next few months.

"We could still be in for some very big rainfalls, so we need to make sure that (Wivenhoe) dam's flood capacity continues to be there, so that if we see any more weather like we saw earlier this week, it has somewhere to go," she said.

Patience is a virtue

Speaking to the media, she called on people to stay off the roads in most instances.

"It's actually really dangerous out there on our roads at the moment", she said.

She urged Queenslanders to exercise patience over the next months - perhaps longer.

"We all need to be very patient, which is part of getting people back on their feet, but I do understand. Inevitably, we will see a lot of pain and grief," she told the Nine Network on Friday.

"That is often manifested in anger and frustration, but I'm ready to absorb some of that, which is part of my role."

She said the recovery process would be long and potentially overwhelming, but it would be done.

"When you have to eat an elephant, one chunk at a time. We're very much in the middle of this incident," she said.

She said the needs of those people worst affected will be addressed first.

Army shipping supplies

The army meantime is taking food and supplies out to cut off suburbs including Moggill and Bellbowrie.

While other parts of southern Queensland begin the floods clean-up, the main areas of concern are now the border town of Goondiwindi and Bundaberg.

Bureau of Meteorology senior hydrologist Ian Rocca told AAP at 5am (AEST) on Friday that the Macintyre River at Goondiwindi was at 10.62 metres and rising.

The expected peak is 10.85 metres - severely testing the levee banks protecting the town.

That height will be less than 15 centimetres from the top of the embankments and above the record 1996 flood level of 10.6 metres.

Goondiwindi mayor Graeme Scheu told AAP he was confident the levees would hold.

"The levee bank is designed for 11 metres. We are expecting this to hold but we are in uncharted territory," Mr Scheu said.

"We're just sitting and waiting for the peak to come, it could be another three to four hours."

Bundabery floods

North of Brisbane, the city of Bundaberg had its second flood in 10 days, although the Thursday night 5.76-metre peak was three metres lower than the last one.

Twenty properties in the town remain submerged and roads, railways and crops are all severely damaged.

Mayor Lorraine Pyefinch said the water level remained high on Friday morning.

But she was hopeful it would start falling, allowing the clean-up to start.

"We're just in a waiting game at the moment," she told AAP.

Council staff had assessed damage in the town, with the bill at $30 million so far.

Meanwhile, Energex said it had restored power to 170,000 homes and businesses across southeast Queensland since the flood crisis peaked on Monday.

The energy provider said that it was now working to get electricity back to another 66,000 properties.

The Queensland government has announced free public transport until January 22 to help with the flood recovery effort and to keep as many cars off the road as possible.

State Transport Minister Rachel Nolan said the measure was intended to help the flood recovery - not for sightseeing.

"Let me be clear: this isn't a ticket to rubberneck. It remains the case that non-essential travel is not encouraged," she said in a statement.