Floodwaters levelled in Rockhampton in central Queensland on Wednesday, but weather forecasters say the Fitzroy River has still not reached a predicted 9.4-metre peak.

It seems there is little reprieve for the central Queensland city, with the weather bureau issuing a severe weather warning for flood-affected areas in the Fitzroy catchment.

Weather bureau hydrologist Paul Birch says the Fitzroy River is holding steady at 9.2 metres.

"We were predicting the peak would be a long, slow, fat peak," he said.

"It's been up around 9.2 metres since about Tuesday afternoon.

"It has been sitting at that level since so until we see a discernible drop and it continues to drop [then] we can say what the peak is."

Rockhampton Regional Council Mayor Brad Carter welcomed the news.

"It is good news. It looks like it may have stabilised," he said.

However, senior forecaster Tony Auden says the predicted heavy rain could cause further flooding.

"The widespread falls of up to 50 millimetres could provide enough inflow to give some kind of river rises in the next few days," he said.

"Those heavier falls should be very isolated, so small pockets of area and not a huge volume of water to go into the river system.

"But it's a case of having to wait until the rain hits the ground."

Authorities say a peak of 9.4 metres in Rockhampton would have left 400 homes with water above their floorboards, while about 4,000 properties would have had water flowing through their yards.

Authorities expect the water to remain above major flood levels for up to 10 days.

The swollen river has forced about 500 people to leave their homes and about 120 people stayed at an evacuation centre in Rockhampton on Tuesday, with hundreds more staying with friends and family.

Emergency services say they are preparing for a massive recovery task ahead.

Whole suburbs are flooded, the airport is shut and the Bruce Highway to the south is a lake.

More than 200,000 people in 40 communities across Queensland have been impacted in some way by the floods, which have hit large parts of the state.

Premier Anna Bligh announced on Wednesday a flood recovery taskforce to be led by Major General Mick Slater.

She says the disaster gripping the state is unprecedented and will require an unparalleled rebuilding effort.

Ms Bligh says the flood bill will easily surpass initial estimates.

"If you count the cost to insurance and to families, if you count everything from the cost to homes, home rebuilding efforts, the public infrastructure rebuilding effort and the economic loss, I think we are well above the $5 billion territory," she said.

The Premier says road repairs alone will cost $2 billion and the coal industry says it has already lost $1 billion in production.

Waiting game

St George in the state's southern inland is the next town in the firing line and authorities in the town have run out of sandbags as residents prepare for possible record flooding.

Nationals Senator Barnaby Joyce, who is based in St George, says the town has used 10,000 sandbags and there are none left.

Many people have been told to prepare to leave their homes as the swollen Balonne River continues to rise.

An evacuation centre was set up in the town on Wednesday, but the river level is not expected to peak until Monday.

Eleanore Carter from the Red Cross says people who have been flood-affected will sleep in the evacuation centre.

"It's totally a guessing game - it depends what the water does and unfortunately our water is not always that predictable," she said.

Most of the town's 28 nursing home residents were flown to Brisbane yesterday because of the flood threat.

There is no sign of panic buying in the grocery stores, but there is trepidation as to what is ahead over the coming days.

It is still raining in St George and more rain and storms are forecast for the region on Thursday.

Evacuees frustrated

Meanwhile evacuees from the flood-struck town of Theodore are frustrated they are still not allowed to return home.

Repair crews are racing to get the power and water back on in the town, west of Bundaberg, because about 300 people have been staying in nearby Moura for more than a week.

One of the evacuees, Ron Bock, says they are finding it hard to accept that it will be at least Friday before they are allowed back.

"People that have been in this situation before tell me the secret to getting your house clean is to get back before the mud goes hard and bakes on and it makes it a lot easier," he said.

"But this isn't going to be the case here."

Water restricted

Meanwhile, people in the Darling Downs town of Dalby are finding creative ways to cope with severe water restrictions that were imposed due to the floods.

Repair crews have not been able to fix the town's damaged water treatment plant nearly a week after it flooded and broke down.

Paul McVeigh, who runs a coffee shop, says he has been forced to cut the cafe's water use by at least half.

"We're washing all the dishes by hand, so we're recycling that water, and then of course for hygiene you have to do a scalding rinse, so we're doing a rinse through the dishwasher," he said.

"We've gone from level five restrictions during the drought and now we're on level six in a flood.

"But unfortunately the flood the size that we've just had has just created so many problems for the treatment plant there, and it's certainly understandable that the council has got a few issues."