'Here to stay': locals dig in with post-flood mud army

For the third time in six years, she welcomed the mud army as volunteers helped waterlogged regions in Queensland and the Northern Territory on Friday.

Janette, who asked for her full name not to be used for privacy reasons, stuck it out in her house at Chinchilla, northwest of Brisbane, after Charleys Creek burst its banks on Wednesday night.

The rising floodwaters triggered an evacuation alert in town - and, it seems, her cat.

"I just stayed inside but the cat did try and escape," Janette told AAP.

"She got down the steps and the door shut behind her. She saw all that water and was clawing at the door to get back in."

Charleys Creek peaked below the predicted high, but 60 homes and businesses were swamped - including Janette's residence.

It marked the third flood at Chinchilla for Janette, who also endured 2010 and 2013 natural disasters.

She held grave fears for the "houseful of furniture" stored under the high-set home after her daughter moved in.

But - unlike her cat - she had no plans to leave as volunteers helped move her waterlogged belongings.

"I'm here to stay," she said.

Armed with high-pressure hoses, water pumps and brooms, boot-clad volunteers rolled through rain-affected regions from the Northern Territory town of Katherine to southeast Queensland.

Others were less fortunate.

The bodies of two backpackers from China were discovered on Thursday in a submerged vehicle after they drove off a bridge on their way from Brisbane to the rain-hit North Burnett region this week.

Another man is missing after reportedly falling from a houseboat in the Burnett River near Bundaberg on Friday.

Bundaberg, north of Brisbane, is one of the communities in recovery mode after more than 350 homes and businesses were inundated.

A string of rescues were pulled off across the state, with footage released on Friday showing a woman in her 80s eagerly receiving help before being ferried to safety as Chinchilla locals evacuated.

"The last time someone gave me their hand, I married him," the pensioner said.

Attention has now turned further west to Longreach, where emergency alerts have been issued ahead of the town's first major flood since 2000.

Longreach was set to be impacted by "pretty big" flooding on the weekend or early next week, the Bureau of Meteorology said.

"We are well prepared but it doesn't avoid the fact that some houses will have water go through them, which is always distressing," Longreach Mayor Tony Rayner told the ABC.

Across Queensland, flooding has closed more than 450 state roads, claimed 250 livestock and impacted 1114 fences.

Wet weather has also devastated the NT, swamping remote communities and affecting Darwin's water supply.

Dramatic footage of rescues near Katherine has been released including vision of a man clinging to a tree being saved.

In another video a woman, man and a dog are airlifted from a submerged car's roof by helicopter.

Katherine is in recovery mode after being hit with its worst flooding in almost 30 years, prompting crocodile sightings around town.

The final number of homes and businesses affected is still being tallied, but the Insurance Council of Australia has declared it a significant event.

Thousands of claims have been received, with numbers expected to rise over coming days, but it is too early to estimate the damage bill.