FLOODING in parts of southwest Queensland has started to ease, revealing the extent of the massive clean-up.
Recovery operations including resupplying missions are beginning in several towns.
However, some communities are still bracing for record flooding expected this afternoon.
During the past week, the worst flooding in 120 years swept across the region, inundating homes and businesses, closing roads and schools and flooding entire towns.
The damage bill is expected to run into the hundreds of millions of dollars.
The small town of Dirranbandi, downstream of St George, could be flooded this afternoon with the Bureau of Meteorology expecting the nearby Ballon Minor River to peak within hours.
Evacuation plans are in place for its 2800 residents. Five SES volunteers will be flown in by helicopter today to assist with preparations and fill sandbags.
About 70 homes in Theodore are at risk of inundation with the Dawson River slowly rising and expected to peak later today.
The Department of Community Safety says water levels at Thallon are now steady and the town’s levee banks are holding well following extensive work to reinforce the banks in the past few days.
There have been no evacuations in the town today and at this stage there are no plans for any further evacuations in the township.
The clean up effort in Roma is continuing with local authorities coordinating tasks around the township.
Flood water around St George has started to recede and residential power supplies are being progressively reconnected through the township.
Resupply and recovery efforts are starting in the town and are expected to continue over several weeks.
Warrego MP Howard Hobbs said his entire electorate, which was larger than the state of Victoria, was ''just swamped'' by the flood water.
''At Cunnamulla, where I’m going to now, the river should peak there this afternoon but hopefully the levee banks will hold it,'' he said.
''There’s a lot of heartache in a lot of the towns. The landholders are being hit like never before – there’s record floods in every major river system in my area of Warrego.
''Water’s gone through homesteads it’s never been in before, it’s torn down dams and fences and some towns have lost a lot of houses under water – even my house in Roma, I had to pull up all my carpets.''
Mr Hobbs said more had to be done to ensure people were prepared for serious flooding in the future.
''One of the big things we’ve got to do is make people more flood smart, to get the government to give assistance in flood prone areas to lift houses up and put them on stilts, or for businesses put mezzanine floors in to lift their product up high,'' he said.
The Bureau of Meteorology says more rain is expected for the flood-ravaged southwest Queensland today.
Isolated showers and thunderstorms are forecast for areas around Charleville, although BoM forecaster Ben Annells said rainfall would not be particularly high.
The surface trough generating the wet conditions would move east tomorrow, Mr Annells said.
''It should be mostly fine through those flooded areas, with just a chance of showers around the Roma area and eastern Darling Downs but fine around Charleville and St George,'' he said.
''It's a similar story for Wednesday.
''Thursday, we'll see that trough push back west again ... to about Charleville. [It] will generate some further afternoon showers and possible storms anywhere between Charleville and Roma.
''At this stage we're not expecting particularly high falls so there probably won't be a lot to it at this stage. [The torrential rains have] plateaued for the most part.''
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