River levels are easing across south-east Queensland as the clean-up from Alfred begins, with some communities dodging their worst flooding fears.

The weather bureau said heavy rain had also eased across south-east and southern Queensland after days of downpours from ex-Cyclone Alfred. 

“River levels remain elevated across flood watch catchments, but are on an easing trend,” BOM said on Tuesday.

A sense of normality was slowly returning, with supermarkets, airports and some Brisbane bus services operating again.

Brisbane Mayor Adrian Schrinner put out the call for a “ute army” to volunteer to help shift broken branches and trees littering streets and parks after Alfred’s strong winds.

About 118,000 properties remained without power on Tuesday down from a peak of 450,000.

More than 400 schools will stay closed until Q-Build and principals can do a walk-through of buildings to make sure they are safe for students.

A flooded road at Rocklea in Brisbane. Photo: AAP

Communities such as Ipswich were breathing a sigh of relief after the Bremer River stopped rising shy of its major flood level on Monday night.

Ipswich Mayor Teresa Harding said the flood could have been “much, much worse”, despite 30 properties suspected to have been inundated.

“There’s families whose homes were flooded and businesses flooded but it could have been much, much worse,” she told ABC News.

Flood levels exceeded the devastating 2022 disaster in one region after ex-tropical cyclone Alfred dumped hundreds of millimetres of rain.

Sirens sounded in Grantham in Queensland’s Lockyer Valley on Monday after flood levels rose more than 600 millimetres in 20 minutes.

Grantham was devastated by floods in 2011, leaving 12 people dead and many homes destroyed.

Dozens of homes were relocated out of low-lying areas after those floods. Lockyer Valley Deputy Mayor Chris Wilson believes that kept families out of danger this week.

But other towns in the region have not been so lucky. Laidley’s CBD was inundated, with at least 10 businesses and a yet-to-be-determined number of homes going under water.

The Warrego Highway, connecting Brisbane to Toowoomba, reopened near Gatton on Tuesday. It had been closed in both directions at Forest Hill Fernvale Road, Glenore Grove, due to flooding.

Lockyer Valley Regional Council warned motorists to drive to the conditions.

Elsewhere, part of Forest Hill became an island for more than 12 hours after floodwaters rose quickly from the Laidley Creek, which still had a minor flood warning on Tuesday.

Wilson suspected the flood emergency had exceeded the levels of 2022 but fallen short of the devastation of 2011 and 2013.

“In the Laidley CBD, I believe it was maybe a little bit bigger than 2022,” he said.

Community members were to assess the damage later on Tuesday but Wilson said spirits remained high despite another inundation.

Brisbane had its highest daily rainfall total in 50 years on Monday, reaching almost 280 millimetres.

The Bureau of Meteorology said there was no further significant rain forecast for the Gold Coast, Brisbane or Sunshine Coast on Tuesday. The Western Downs could get thunderstorms bringing up to 30 millimetres of rain.

“The remnants of ex-tropical cyclone Alfred have now anticipated we are on an easing trend, particularly about coastal areas, but a few showers and thunderstorms are still possible,” meteorologist Helen Reid said.

South of the Tweed, NSW residents are beginning to return home as evacuation orders lift in some towns.

Lismore local Tina and her son Tyson had to evacuate the home they had been squatting in after escaping domestic violence. They returned quickly as they could – by boat.

“Lismore was in absolute fear, they definitely were traumatised,” she said.

She said that property and others on the street were part of a buyback scheme following the devastating 2022 floods. They have since been occupied by people at the forefront of the nation’s housing crisis.

NSW Premier Chris Minns vowed to evict “overseas visitors, tourists, backpackers” taking advantage of condemned properties left empty after being included in the buyback scheme.

“We bought those houses so that we could keep communities safe … and to have squatters move in off the back of that is completely unacceptable,” he said on Tuesday.

“The housing problems are not going to be solved by moving people into flood-prone land.

“We have to draw a line in the sand here and that means demolishing those houses and ensuring that we can get on with life in the northern rivers.”

About 40 people had been living in the eight flood-ravaged homes near the Lismore city centre.

-with AAP