Brisbane saw its wettest day in half a century, with the deluge causing widespread flash flooding, sparking dozens of rescues and thousands of calls for help.

“This event is far from over,” Prime Minister Anthony Albanese said from Lismore.

Parts of Logan, south of Brisbane, and the Gold Coast have also been badly hit, with roads and suburbs underwater.

Residents in Ipswich, to Brisbane’s west, were also told to prepare to evacuate as the Bremer River running broke its banks late this afternoon.

Nambour on the Sunshine Coast, north of Brisbane, is also seeing dangerous floods.

One man there who climbed onto the roof of his car to escape rising water is “extremely lucky”, according to local emergency services.

“The car started filling up so we climbed on the roof and grabbed our boat,” the man told 9News.

Even 100km from Brisbane in the rural town of Grantham, residents were told to evacuate, with flood sirens sounding.

Queensland SES volunteers had their busiest 24 hours in its history, the state’s Premier David Crisafulli said, with 3676 calls for help.

Queensland Police Acting Commissioner Shane Chelepy said an extra 249 officers were out in the community as the flood response continues.

Severe weather warnings remain in place for parts of the Northern Rivers, Northwest Slopes and Plains, Northern Tablelands and Mid North Coast.

Meanwhile, hardship payments for residents affected by the cyclone are coming into effect.

The Personal Hardship Assistance Scheme will also be activated for impacted residents in the Logan, Gold Coast and Redlands council areas.

There are currently 31 LGAs impacted by Alfred.

Hundreds of schools have reopened, but many still remain closed.

Emergency eases in Lismore, NSW

NSW Premier Chris Minns says there is “good news” out of the already flood-ravaged town of Lismore, where there is just one evacuation order still in place after major flooding over the weekend.

The order is covering Lismore North.

“As soon as it is safe, SES will lift that and get people into their houses as soon as possible,” Minns said.

He said a levee breach now appears unlikely, with the Wilson River dropping after reaching a high of nearly 10 metres.

Minns says about 9800 homes and businesses in the Northern Rivers were without power, down from a high of 43,000 in the past three days.

Despite the constantly repeated warnings, NSW SES Deputy Commissioner Damien Johnston says that 18 flood rescues were carried out in the past 24 hours, among more than 1100 calls for support.

Soldiers are clearing debris from isolated roads.

BoM senior meteorologist Christie Johnson said while rain and storms were expected to continue tomorrow, the amount of rain would be much more moderate.

Widespread falls of between 200 and 400mm hit Queensland’s south-east in the 20 hours to 5am today, with a severe weather warning in place from Gympie to the NSW border, and west as far as Toowoomba.