Last night the CBD remained closed, with water inundating shops and completely swallowing homes and businesses. North Booval resident Diana James and her family were hoping to ‘‘ride out’’ the flood, before police advised them otherwise. “Police came knocking on our door about 8pm,’’ she said. “We wouldn’t have gone but just as well the policeman did come ... because if we had stayed we’d probably be sitting on the roof or not even that. “You can’t even see the roof tops down that end [of the street]. It’s daunting, I’ve never been through anything like that.” About 4000 properties were expected to be directly affected when the flood peaked. This morning about 30,000 Ipswich properties are without power. Thousands of people spent the night in more than 20 evacuation centres across the city.

But cold beer was yesterday still being served at the Commercial Hotel on Ellenborough Street, where water had completely submerged the Timothy Molony Park and was barely a metre from the top of the goal posts. Pub owner Norm Solomon said he hoped the river of water below his premises did not creep any higher and inundate the compressor that is running the fridges. Lorna Wells had refused to believe her residence at the Ipswich Heritage Lodge on Bremer Street would be affected. If I find anybody looting in our city they will be used as flood markers. But by on Tuesday last night she had fled, amid a rush to move her belongings to a house on higher ground behind the lodge.

The flood is now up to the guttering of the building and continues to rise. She said tenants at the lodge had been forced to stuff budgerigars into their pockets to help caretaker Tony Pisasale save his 13 birds. Their cages were secured to a wall and unable to be moved. “The water came up the driveway and up the back of my place so we had to quickly grab everything we needed and take it [to a house on higher ground],’’ Ms Wells said. ‘‘By the time we left the water had poured right through the backyard and was coming up the steps of the house and we realised we had to leave.”

Twelve people have been confirmed dead in floods across southeast Queensland.The dead include a mother and son who were killed as a bystander attempted to rescue them during Toowoomba’s “inland tsunami” on Monday. Donna Rice and two of her sons were trapped on the roof of their car. She and son Jordan, 13, died as a man managed to rescue the youngest boy, 10, using a rope. Loading “He just got hold of [the youngest son] and a big wave of water came and swept [Donna and Jordan] downstream,” a family friend said. “[The rescuer] was going to take [Jordan] but he said no, take the younger brother. He more or less saved the little brother.”