Energex says about 3,500 customers in south-east Queensland are still without power after Sunday's destructive storm.

Most of the affected properties are on the north side of Brisbane but about 200 homes are still without electricity at Ipswich, the Gold Coast, Redcliffe and Caboolture.

Energex says more than 500 staff worked in heavy rain last night to restore power to as many homes as possible.

The electricity provider says there are about 1,000 homes and businesses either no longer exist or are too badly damaged to be safely reconnected.

Energex is urging people in storm-affected suburbs to turn off their appliances even if they do not have power.

The warning came after a house caught fire after power was restored to streets in the worst-hit suburb of The Gap last night.

It is believed the fire was started by a stove that turned on when the electricity was re-connected. The house received only minor fire damage.

Police are closing the main road between The Gap and neighbouring Keperra this morning to clear storm debris.

Acting Superintendent Joe Joyce says Settlement Road will be closed between 9:00am and 3:00pm

He says general traffic and sightseers are hampering relief efforts.

"It will allow us to clear the debris a lot quicker than we otherwise would have," he said.

Meanwhile, Premier Anna Bligh is urging Queenslanders to dig deep and support her disaster relief appeal for victims of the storms.

The State Government is donating $500,000 to start the appeal, and Ms Bligh says the public can make donations at any Commonwealth Bank.

"We have got thousands of homes affected, more than 4,000 homes needing repair people out of their homes people in very difficult circumstances, so I just say 'Queenslanders come let's just get behind them'," she said.

"It could be any one of us over a summer season."

Public Works Minister Robert Schwarten says he and the Premier will discuss a re-building strategy this morning with insurance experts and the Building Services Authority.

"I've been in 10 years as a minister through a lot of disaster areas and it's equal to any of those," he said.

"It might be a small sample of Brisbane, but it's a very important one. There's a lot of damage and the damage rivals that of any other disaster Qld has seen."