Flood waters surge across Brisbane as Heavy rainfall expected to continue

Queenslanders have been told to stay home today (Monday), as intense weather continues to lash the state.  Parts of south-east Queensland are underwater, as some areas experience the worst weather event in more than a decade.

The death toll has reached seven, including one SES volunteer.

Homes have been inundated, towns have been cut off and families have been evacuated to higher ground.

Brisbane City Council has sent out an emergency alert via text advising that major flooding is likely on the Brisbane River, with levels expected to peak at 3.7m on Monday morning.

Just before midnight, a Severe thunderstorm warning was also issued for the south east Queensland region, for "intense rainfall that may lead to dangerous & life-threatening flash flooding".

Queensland Premier Annastacia Palaszczuk says the intense weather smashing the state's south east is "like an unpredictable cyclone".

More than 600 schools have been closed for the start of the week and people are being asked to work from home amid fresh flood warnings from the Bureau of Meteorology (BoM) on Sunday night.

Several towns remain under evacuation orders overnight, with parts of south east Queensland experiencing their worst flooding in over a decade.

Queensland residents are also being asked to conserve drinking water, with treatment plant impacted by the weather event.

Brisbane Airport remains open but localised flooding has blocked some point access to and from the airport, with flooding also resulting in the closure of the Skygate and DFO precincts.

Prime Minister Scott Morrison announced the federal government had activated disaster recovery payments of $1000 per eligible adult and $400 per eligible child to support those impacted.

The payments will be available for people in the local government areas of Gympie and North Burnett from Monday, but are expected to be made more widely available as other areas are declared disaster zones.

The Australian Defence Force said personnel will continue to support the emergency response efforts and will do more once the water recedes and the recovery effort starts.