UPDATE: Chaos in QLD as 60,000 without electricity, tempers fray between tourists
Stranded Airlie Beach holiday makers are at breaking point after the lagoon at the cyclone ravaged tourist hot spot filled with sewage, and the town remains without power.
In hot and humid conditions, the resort town's pools and lagoon were being used as bathing spots but are reportedly now filthy, filled with "human waste", so tourists have been forced to bathe with their precious bottled drinking water, leaving supermarket shelves bare.
Tourists are becoming angered at the lack of resources or information now three days after ex-cyclone Debbie made landfall, according to news.com.au.
It is believed many are remaining in flooded rooms - some even without windows after the storm struck Queensland's tropical north.
Tensions have flared as people flock to the Airlie Beach Woolworths supermarket where a mobile phone charging station has been set up.
There are reports of a shouting match between tourists this morning when a woman was told: “You’ve had long enough, let someone else have a turn.”
People in the Bowen and Airlie Beach areas have been warned against drinking tap water, as it may have become contaminated.
Emergency alerts have been issued by the Whitsunday Regional Council to advise people to boil drinking water, as restored water may be discoloured and contain bacteria.
If they have no other option, tap water should be boiled for three minutes, cooled and stored in a clean container with a lid, the Queensland Fire and Emergency Services advised.
Drinking water is available from 8am tomorrow from the Whitsunday Plaza carpark (formerly Centro). Residents should take their own container to collect water, as no bottled water will be given out.
As the clean up continues in northern Queensland, the first guests have been evacuated from the Whitsunday islands resorts, which was hard hit by Debbie.
Thousands remain stranded on Hamilton Island on Friday ahead of planned airlifts to Brisbane, Sydney and Melbourne in the coming days.
HMAS Melville has assisted with the successful evacuation of more than 400 people from Daydream Island following the cyclone, the Royal Australian Navy reported.
Energex has reported about 60,000 Queensland homes, from the Sunshine Coast down to the Gold Coast are still without electricity.
Many homes will remain without power for a "number of days".
The power provider says the full extent of the damage to the network is still unknown with flooding and debris blocking roads.
"As a result of these issues, there will be customers across these regions who will be without power for a number of days," Energex Event Manager Jeff Philipson said.
With major flooding expected on the Albert and Logan Rivers the situation could become even worse.
Major flooding is occurring along the Tweed River at Murwillumbah, where early Friday morning the river level peaked slightly higher than the 1954 flood.
A woman's body has been found on a flooded property about 20 kilometres south of the town.
The Tweed River peaked at an estimated 6.20m around 04.30 Friday morning, with major flooding, and is falling slowly.
The main peak in the Tweed River is nearing Chinderah (Barneys Point) where river levels are peaking with this afternoon's high tide, the Bureau of Meteorology, reported.
The river is expected to rise again and possibly reach 2.50m early Saturday morning with the high tide.
Hinze Dam, on the Gold Coast is now at its highest level ever recorded, and the Logan River has exceeded its recorded flood level of 1991, Bureau said.
Calls to "get to higher ground" for areas in Gold Coast and Logan have been issued following warnings people may have perished in Lismore as floodwaters swept through northern NSW.
More than 300 Logan properties are likely to be impacted, including up to 211 inundated across a large low area.
Police are door knocking the area after Commissioner Ian Stewart announced fresh evacuation orders for parts of Logan City, south of Brisbane, as well as areas in north of the Gold Coast.
Mr Morrow said there were unprecedented downpours in parts of northern NSW with 700mm of rain falling in 48 hours near Tweed Heads.
He expects some properties will see properties inundated with water as high as two metres.
With the Wilsons and Tweed rivers bursting their banks, it is the first time the levee that encircles the town of Lismore has been breached since it was built in 2005.
A video flyover of Lismore shows a town completely submerged in flood waters where rooftops have become islands in the swollen Wilsons River.
Gold Coast City Council has advised immediate evacuations for Staplyton-Jacobs Well, Norwell Road, Eggersdorf Road, Kerkin Road and Pimpama-Jacobs.
WHAT WE KNOW:
*Evacuation orders for areas in Logan and Gold Coast
*Lismore flooded as waters breach levee, possible deaths in northern NSW
*Woman's body found on flooded property south of Murwillumbah
*Tweed River is nearing peaking levels at Chinderah
*Hinze Dam, Gold Coast at record levels
*Logan River exceeded 1991 record flood level
*Ipswich is peaking
*Free Brisbane refuse tips for green waste this weekend
*Clean up in Southeast Queensland continues as winds batter region, 60,000 without power
*Thousands of schools and childcare centres closed in both states
*Contact the SES for flood and storm assistance SES on 132 500
*Call triple-0 for life-threatening situations
Residents in low-lying areas around Beenleigh have also been told to get out as the Albert River continues to rise towards a possible 130-year record level.
Record rainfalls were recorded, with Upper Springbrook in Southeast Queensland notching 789mm on Thursday.
Long-term residents of sopping Beaudesert say they have never seen anything like the flooding that has come through the region.
The famous Yatala Pies shop is surrounded by the flood and the Beenleigh touch football club and oval is completely under water.
People in the area are completely cut off, with no way of escaping without a dinghy or watercraft.
Wading through the waters is not advised as water levels in parts are exceeding the heights of adults.
NSW SES Deputy Commissioner Mark Morrow said earlier Friday there were 130 flood rescues overnight on Thursday in northern NSW.
The commissioner said some people who called for help could not be reached which could bring "distressing news".
"There could be people overnight that perished in that flood, we don't know at this stage," he said.
"We expect this morning that as we start to go out and try to find people that made those calls overnight, there could be some very distressing news."
Up to 6000 people in Lismore were ordered to evacuate overnight with major flooding along the Wilsons River on Thursday night.
About 60 people slept at the local Southern Cross University campus as streets, bridges and shops were hit by floodwaters.
Lismore Airport, deluged with 289mm of rain by the end of the day, was closed and the Simes bridge was under water.
Widespread school closures remain in place across Queensland's southeast corner, including 848 public schools and 319 Catholic and independent schools.
There are also 1344 childcare centres shut for the day.
In northern NSW there are a 54 public schools closed.
Almost 80,000 homes from the Sunshine Coast down to the Gold Coast are still without power.
Energex says the full extent of the damage to the network is still unknown with flooding and debris blocking roads.
Brisbane City Council will this weekend offer free refuse tips for green waste at its four cycling centres, until 5.45pm Sunday.
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Prepared for the worst
Real estate agent Katrina Beohm, who spent Thursday sandbagging and mopping up rainwater from her shopfront in East Lismore, was unsure what to expect come Friday morning.
"We're just preparing for another incident through the night," she said on Thursday evening.
The State Emergency Service conducted 133 flood rescues, many in Lismore, when the Wilsons River burst over the town's levee.
Closer to the Queensland border, residents in 500 homes in the South Murwillumbah, Condong and Tumbulgum areas were also ordered to evacuate, with the Tweed River experiencing major flooding.
People in Tweed Heads South and West, Chinderah, Kingscliff, Fingal Head and Bilambil were told to leave too.
Cyclone Debbie's tail batters Southeast Queensland
The trail of destruction caused by the tail of Cyclone Debbie will become clearer after heavy rains and flash floods in Queensland's southeast.
Category four winds and associated rain that blasted the northern coastline have turned towards the inland and the south of the state where almost almost 500mm fell in 24 hours near the Gold Coast.
Brisbane and surrounding areas copped, 226 millimetres, more than twice a month's worth of March rainfall on Thursday.
Across the state's central and southern regions, 58 swift water rescues were performed by authorities, who are pleading with people to stay indoors.
