The death toll from Queensland's flood crisis has climbed to 12 and is almost certain to rise as teams continue to search trees, creeks and cars for bodies.
The bodies of two men were discovered in the Lockyer Valley this afternoon, one at a home at Grantham and another in a creek at Lyons Bridge.
There are 67 people missing, a tally revised downwards earlier today, and expected to fluctuate as the crisis unfolds, Premier Anna Bligh said.
"It's tragic news that we've had another two deaths ... I don't believe that's the end of that kind of news," Ms Bligh told reporters.
"To the families of the two men whose bodies were found this afternoon the thoughts of all Queenslanders are with you."
Deputy Police Commissioner Ian Stewart said recovery teams were searching buildings "completely destroyed" by floodwaters, and combing trees, creeks and cars for bodies.
"Our hope is that we actually might find some survivors but the chances of that are quite remote," he said.
Whole suburbs under water
Flood waters are already affecting 35 Brisbane suburbs, and Ipswich's CBD has been swamped and 3000 homes inundated, with both cities expected to experience flood levels at or beyond what was seen during the catastrophic 1974 floods.
Whole streets are under water in inner-city New Farm, one of the many Brisbane suburbs facing major damage from the city's flood crisis.
Scores of businesses are shut and sandbagged, residents have moved to higher ground and whole roads are closed after the nearby Brisbane River burst its banks, sending water pouring into the area on Wednesday morning.
Elsewhere in southern Queensland, Chinchilla was bracing for a worse flood than that experienced two weeks ago, with residents now evacuating from homes they had only just moved back into.
Across the state, 3585 people have been forced to take shelter in 57 evacuation centres, including 1500 in Ipswich and 400 in Brisbane.
Ahead of a 5.5 metre peak of the Brisbane River on Thursday, bus services into the CBD have been cancelled, and trains are operating on public holiday timetables.
The Inner City Bypass has been closed and tolls lifted on the Logan and Gateway motorways to make it easier for drivers taking unfamiliar routes due to flooding.
Ms Bligh said public hospitals had generator back-up power and were located in areas safe from flooding.
Queensland Health's CBD headquarters had been evacuated to the Princess Alexandra Hospital, she said.
"We expect the CBD of our capital city to be looking and feeling a lot like a ghost town around about now and for rest of the day and the next couple of days," she said.
Ms Bligh said the Brisbane River is expected to rise to 4.5 metres on Wednesday afternoon ahead of a 5.5-metre peak about 3am (AEST) on Thursday, slightly higher than the 5.45 metres seen in 1974.
About 19,700 properties are expected to be flooded in 50 suburbs, with 3500 commercial blocks also affected.
Some 6500 people are expected to take shelter at emergency centres in Brisbane.
At Ipswich, the Bremer River has broken its banks and sent water surging though the CBD, flooding some businesses to ceiling height.
It's expected to peak at about 20.5 metres around midday on Wednesday - just shy of the 20.6-metre peak in 1974, the premier said.
Up to 4000 homes are expected to be inundated, and 1500 Ipswich residents are holed up in emergency shelters.
The regional centres of Dalby and Chinchilla, to Brisbane's west, are again swamped by floodwaters, less than two weeks after homes and businesses were inundated in both communities.
The township of Condamine has been evacuated for a second time as more floods hit. Some communities are newly under threat.
Ms Bligh said there were fears rising flood waters at Goondiwindi, near the NSW border, could breach levee banks, flooding the town of 5000. The town of Texas, also on the border, is seeing waters rise and many of its 600 residents are being evacuated.
A quarry filled with water has collapsed, flooding homes and leaving hundreds of people stranded in the Queensland town of Fernvale, in the Brisbane Valley.
Ms Bligh said the state coroner and grief counsellors would head to the Lockyer Valley, west of Brisbane, where flash flooding caused many deaths and widespread destruction.
The death toll is expected to climb, with 67 people in the Lockyer Valley area still missing. Ms Gillard, who'll visit evacuees in Brisbane on Wednesday afternoon, urged people in the path of floodwaters not to risk their lives and to leave their homes early.
"Without any doubt, we need to put human life first," she said.
Ms Bligh said extra floodboats were on the job but people must also take responsibility for their own safety.
"We should be doing everything in our own power to protect ourselves and leaving our emergency people to deal with the absolute extreme cases," the premier said.
About 56,000 properties are without power in southeast Queensland, most in Ipswich and many across Brisbane.
Energex says many premises in the Brisbane CBD are already without power, and there were plans to cut off more properties. It said residents in flooded areas should expect to lose power.
