THIRTY-five Brisbane suburbs have been hit by flooding with the Brisbane River set to get to 4.5m today before reaching an expected flood peak of less than 5m at 4am.

A desperate evacuation of 100 people, some in chest-deep water, occurred at a unit block in St Lucia, west Brisbane.

There are reports of minor injuries so far. A local rowing club were working with five fire crews to get the others out.

It was believed the complex was flooded and residents were trapped, or were unwilling to move.

Just streets away, an evacuation of 20 people is under way at Warren St.

A boat is on the scene with three fire crews.

About 1500 people have already been evacuated from homes in Brisbane.

Thirty-five Brisbane suburbs have been hit by flooding as the Brisbane River surges towards its expected peak of less than 5m on Thursday at 4am - less than the level of the 1974 floods.

Evacuees have been urged to register with the National Registration and Inquiry System to ensure friends and family know they are safe.

Registration can be done over the internet at www.redcross.org.au or by phone on 1800 727 077.

This applies both to people evacuated by authorities and self-evacuees.

The south Brisbane suburb of Yeronga is just one area of the city likely to be completely underwater as floodwaters rise in the Brisbane River.

Lord Mayor Campbell Newman says new flood modelling now indicates that 19,700 residential properties and 3,500 commercial premises in 2,100 streets are likely to be flooded in the city.

"For the low-lying areas, for the ones that were on the original list, those properties are going to under to a significant extent," he told the Seven network.

Email your flood pics or MMS to 0428 258 117

"In 1974 there were properties in Yeronga, for example, that went completely under. That's what we're staring at.''

Premier Anna Bligh is warning residents to take no comfort in the blue skies above Brisbane this morning.

Even the Premier was gobsmacked by what she saw floating down the Brisbane River- pontoons, boats and even garden furniture.

The Brisbane River has broken its banks at the Brisbane Corso in Yeerongpilly and at Indooroopilly. Coronation Driver is closed.

Water is inundating parks and low-lying streets.

About 143 people are taking refuge at the RNA showgrounds with other centres to come on line as needed.

Brisbane City Council advises a second evacuation centre has been activated at the former QEII Stadium on Kessels Road in Nathan.

Up to 40,000 properties are expected to be impacted by flooding by Thursday based on the latest flood modelling.

Of these, 19,700 are residential properties which will have flooding across their entire property. A further 12,000 are expected to have flooding across part of their property.

About 3500 commercial premises will have flooding across their entire property and a further 2500 will have flooding across part of their property.

A further 2300 properties such as parks and vacant land will also be flooded.

The depth of flooding on individual properties is not known because this flood event is expected to exceed all previous records.

The figures were produced using Brisbane City Council's computer modelling using information provided by the Bureau of Meteorology and SEQ Water.

More than 2100 streets across Brisbane will be impacted.

Suburbs which are expected to experience flooding are Acacia Ridge, Albion, Anstead, Archerfield, Auchenflower, Bellbowrie, Bowen Hills, Brisbane City, Brookfield, Bulimba, Chelmer, Chuwar, Coopers Plains, Coorparoo, Corinda, East Brisbane, Fairfield, Fig Tree Pocket, Fortitude Valley, Graceville, Greenslopes, Hamilton, Hawthorne, Hemmant, Indooroopilly, Jindalee, Kangaroo Point, Karana Downs, Kenmore, Lytton, Milton, Moggill, Murarrie, Moorooka, Mt Ommaney, New Farm, Newstead, Norman Park, Oxley, Paddington, Pinkenba, Rocklea, Sherwood, South Brisbane, Sumner, Taringa, Tennyson, Toowong, West End, Woolloongabba, Windsor, Wacol, Yeronga and Yeerongpilly.

On the Sunshine Coast, four evacuation centers have been set up and residents in the Buderim streets of Sam White, Devon and Dover drives have been evacuated with concerns about land slides.

The Brisbane River and Moreton Bay are now closed to boat traffic and campers on Moreton Island have been moved to Tangalooma Resort.

The number of people missing has been increased to 79 with the death toll standing at 10 with grave concerns for 18 people.

Evacuation centres have been set up on the Sunshine Coast at Lake Kawana Community Centre, the J at Noosa, the Nambour Civic Centre and the Beerburrum Community Centre.

The SES received 32483 calls for help overnight with the majority of callers from Brisbane and Ipswich. Currently about 51,000 homes across the southeast are without power.

Fifteen prisoners and four corrective services staff from the Helena Jones Correction Centre for Women are helping fill sandbags at the Zillmere council depot.

Charitable Brisbane residents offering assistance or donations to evacuation centres have been asked to contact the Brisbane City Council call centre on 3403 8888. All offers will be considered in relation to current requirements.

The Brisbane International Airport sheltered more than 150 flood evacuees last night after they were incorrectly informed it was an evacuation centre.

A spokesperson said Brisbane Airport Corporation (BAC) took the people in and sheltered them but that the terminals were not equipped with the bedding, food or water supplies needed to be an evacuation centre.

“BAC would like to notify Brisbane residents that the airport is not a designated evacuation centre,” the spokesperson said.

Meanwhile, the airport will continue to operate throughout the night.

Both domestic and international terminals are open and flights are expected to depart and arrive on schedule.

But transport to and from the airport is limited.

The AirTrain is running services every half hour to the city and once every hour for passengers to the Gold Coast.

CoachTrans bus service is operating on demand, but all night-time services are cancelled.



A telephone hotline - 1300 993 191 - has been set up for people seeking information on friends and relatives caught up in the flooding disaster.

Lifeline crisis line: 13 11 14

Originally published as Evacuations rise as homes flooded