Prime Minister Julia Gillard has struggled to hold back tears while speaking about those killed in last month's devastating floods.

The Federal Parliament is considering a condolence motion for the victims of the Queensland and Victorian floods.

Ms Gillard has paid tribute to the emergency personnel who helped pull people from the waters and those who died.

She has spoken of a teenage boy and his mother who were killed when a wall of water hit Toowoomba on January 10.

"The courage it takes for a young boy, 13-year-old Jordan Rice, to say to his rescuers, 'take my brother first'," Ms Gillard said.

"And before that brave rescuer could return, Jordan and mum Donna were taken by the flood. But the legend of Jordan's amazing courage will go on."

Ms Rice and her two sons were caught in the downpour and had climbed onto the roof of their car when a passer-by tried to rescue them.

Jordan helped lift his younger brother to safety before he was swept away.

Ms Gillard says Jordan was "a hero in the purest sense of the word".

She says when people and communities are back to full strength, the dead will not be forgotten.

"They are not just names on a list," she said. "They were someone's brother, sister, grandparent or child.

"No insurance payout is going to fill that."

The Prime Minister also made special mention of helicopter pilot Mark Kempton and a pregnant mother whose child was torn from her arms and drowned.

"There are other heroes, like Mark Kempton and his helicopter crew from Emergency Management Queensland - a crew that winched 28 people to safety over a period of two-and-a-half hours," Ms Gillard said.

"They should be patting themselves on the back and saying job well done to each other. Instead, Mark is haunted by every human face of this disaster; a woman he rescued who wept uncontrollably as she was pulled into the helicopter.

"In a media report Mark said: 'I looked over my shoulder and I saw her sitting on the floor of the aircraft and she was devastated. It was heartbreaking'.

"What Mark was witnessing was a young pregnant mother who, just seconds before the chopper had arrived, had had her young child wrenched from her weary arms by the floodwaters. She finally succumbed to the terrifying power of nature that night.

"How do you tell Mark to rejoice in thinking of the people he saved when that young mother can think of nothing except that child she lost?

"I say to these heroes, for every one person you saved there are hundreds - even thousands of people - who are not grieving today."

Acts of heroism

But she also noted that in adversity came mateship and strength from volunteers and neighbours.

"We should also remember this summer as a sign of courage," she said.

Opposition Leader Tony Abbott has also called for Jordan to be considered for a posthumous cross of valour to recognise his unselfishness.

He says the act of bravery was "a reminder of the height of selflessness to which individuals can rise".

"Of all the acts of heroism, there was none more emblematic of the Australian spirit," he said.

Mr Abbott told Parliament the natural disasters of this summer have taken a terrible toll.

"We can scarcely imagine the horror of having a loved one plucked from your arms. We can scarcely imagine the terror of seeing safety recede," he said.

"In the aftermath of this tragedy, all of us stand with them today."

Across Queensland, 35 people have been reported dead in flood-related incidents since November 30. Several people remain missing in the Lockyer Valley.

About 26,000 Brisbane homes had either major or partial flooding when the Brisbane River peaked. In Ipswich, the Bremer River flooded 3,000 homes.