The worst may have passed for nervous residents on flood evacuation alert in Coonamble in north-west New South Wales, with the Castlereagh River falling short of the forecast peak.
At 11.30am the river was 5.14 metres, slightly less than it was at 8.30 this morning.
The Bureau of Meteorology says this indicates the river is at its peak, which is less than the forecast 5.3 metres.
Major flooding has still been reported in the town which remains isolated and evacuation orders remain in place.
More than 1,000 people were forced to evacuate their homes last night, with about 330 registering at the two evacuation centres in the town, the State Emergency Service reports.
"There is still a big flood for this Coonamble community, which remains isolated, and that same threat will be felt further downstream over the coming days and weeks as the river level continues to rise," SES spokesman Phil Campbell said.
"Until we've actually seen the waters begin to substantially fall, we will maintain the evacuation orders (for Coonamble)."
Engineers at Coonamble continue to monitor the water pressure on the levee amid fears it may rupture.
Disaster zones
Premier Kristina Keneally has declared the Bourke and Coonamble local government areas natural disaster zones during a tour of the region.
"Since Christmas, state emergency services and other agencies have been on the ground assisting with fixing roofs, transportation, food drops and animal relocation," Ms Keneally said in a statement.
"The flooding situation has now progressively worsened in some areas."
The Department of Human Services has set up an evacuation centre at Coonamble Bowling Club in Aberford Street to help residents find temporary accommodation and provide other assistance.
Police have also started patrolling vacant properties to deter looters, while dozens of residents have ignored evacuation calls.
"The natural disaster assistance measures have now been extended to people who have suffered property damage in Coonamble and Bourke," Ms Keneally said.
"That will provide much needed longer term help to residents, primary producers, business owners and councils. It will help them to rebuild.”
"The measures make available loans for primary producers of up to $130,000 with a two-year interest and repayment free period, and stock transport freight cash subsidies."
Primary Industries and Emergency Services Minister Steve Whan said the State Emergency Service was working with staff from Infrastructure and Investment NSW to help rural property owners concerned about the welfare of their stock.
Flood warnings
Flood warnings have also been issued for other rivers throughout the state, including the MacIntyre, Peel, Namoi, Bogan, Culgoa, Warrego, Paroo and Barwon-Darling rivers.
Minor to moderate flooding has been forecast in many areas, with the already washed-out rural properties around Bourke and Brewarrina still a concern to the SES.
SES spokesman David Webber said the SES would have 23 aircraft working around NSW in an effort to help those affected by the flooding.
"They'll be involved in a whole range of things from resupply to stock monitoring to fodder drops, and they'll be on call in case they're required," he said.
"We're still looking at areas around Bourke and Brewarrina and downstream... at the flood peak moving down the Darling River.
"But we're only expecting minor to moderate flooding on rural properties... over the coming week."
Queensland warning
Meanwhile, rivers in Queensland's central west are at risk of further flooding with storms forecast to roll through the region this afternoon.
Longreach escaped damage yesterday with the Thomson River peaking at only 3.9 metres, on the manual gauge, at 7pm.
Bureau of Meteorology senior hydrologist James Stuart said the peak was well below the 4.3 metres predicted and wasn't high enough to damage homes.
"As far as we're concerned, we would need a flood of something substantially larger before the town was threatened at all, somewhere in the region of 5.6 metres," Mr Stuart said.
More than 100 millimetres of rain has fallen on Longreach since December 31st, and more thunderstorms are forecast for the region this afternoon and overnight.
Flood warnings are current for the Thomson, Barcoo and Landsborough rivers.
Windorah, southwest of Longreach, is expected to bear the brunt of floodwaters later in the week.
Mr Stuart said water was flowing down from the north, after 223mm of rain drenched Muttaburra in the 24 hours to 9am on New Year's Eve.
The rainfall across the state has prompted the Queensland Fire and Rescue Service (QFRS) to lift all fire bans.
The fire ban for the Whitsunday council area will be the last to be removed, as of Tuesday.
The QFRS reminds residents to remain vigilant while using fire and says anyone wishing to light a fire larger than two metres in any aspect must obtain a permit.
Clean-up
Meanwhile, power has been restored to homes in Queensland's southeast after a storm dumped more than 100mm of rain on Brisbane, the Sunshine Coast and the Gold Coast on Sunday.
Energex spokeswoman Kathryn Ryan said more the 7,500 homes lost power, with Eight Mile Plains and Rochedale in Brisbane's south the hardest hit areas.
"Quite a few of the power interruptions were caused by lightning and high winds, with some debris bringing down powerlines," she said.
More than 3,000 lightning strikes were recorded by Energex, but the State Emergency Service said there was only very minor damage.
