A small town in Queensland’s south-west is being evacuated as flooding from record rainfall inundates homes and the state’s crisis worsens.

Queensland Police declared a public safety preservation warning in the small town of Adavale, nearly 1000 kilometres west of Brisbane,  on Thursday morning amid reports several houses had water inside.

Adavale has a population of less than 30 people, including Stephen Cowley whose high-set home was the last residence in town still “high and dry” on Friday.

Cowley chose to be relocated by SES crews to a nearby evacuation centre where he expects to remain for at least a week.

“We’ve been advised we should all leave town,” Cowley told AAP.

“The water has been rising the last three days. Last night there was a huge rise.

“At 4.30am it was running through our yards but now my truck and tractor is underwater, the four cars are gone.”

Flood warnings have been issued across the state after days of downpours, with about 500 millimetres recorded within a week at Adavale’s neighbour Quilpie, representing a year’s worth of rain.

The wet weather is set to move southeast by the weekend, bringing heavy rain as far down as northern and eastern NSW that may cause flooding.

Sandbagging sites are reopening around Brisbane and the Gold Coast, weeks after ex-Tropical Cyclone Alfred battered the southeast.

A severe weather warning is currently spanning the central west’s Winton down to Cunnamulla near the NSW border.

Additional aerial support and swiftwater crews have been deployed out west to towns like Charleville and Longreach with more bound for Emerald on Friday.

“We are dealing with a significant event over a really large part of Queensland,” Queensland Premier David Crisafulli said.

Widespread downpours of up to 400 millimetres hit Queensland’s west and southwest, with up to 200 millimetres to come.

The wet weather has cut roads, isolated communities and disrupted telecommunications.

Quilpie locals said their plight had not been helped with no weather radar available between Alice Springs and Charleville and called for government support.

Quilpie Mayor Ben Hall said no radar meant the Bureau of Meteorology was “flying blind” and unable to provide his region a heads-up on when peak flooding would hit.

“It makes it very hard to coordinate emergency responses in times like this,” he said.

“No forward planning for stock movement or anything else can happen without more accurate forecasting and we’re still flying in the dark trying to work out what next for Quilpie Shire.

“It’s heart breaking for farmers who were battling drought only a week ago.”

The local towns inundated ironically include Eromanga, renowned as Australia’s furthest town from the sea.

“We’re working closely with the state (government) to look at if there’s a need to fly in food supplies,” Quilpie Council CEO Justin Hancock told AAP.

“It’s too early to tell how long we’re going to be cut off for to make the call.”

Numerous rivers have flooded as record rainfall continues to lash parts of Queensland, cutting off roads and communities.

Flood warnings were current for the Paroo, Bulloo, Cooper, Barcoo, Thomson, Western, Diamantina and Georgina rivers on Thursday.

Other rivers across western and central Queensland are also experiencing minor to moderate flooding and there is a severe weather warning for the Maranoa and Warrego districts.

The wider Quilpie community is also among the regions threatened by floodwaters.

A major flood warning has also been issued for the Haughton River near Townsville in north Queensland after downpours of up to 120mm, with more rain forecast.

There is major flooding at the small town of Giru, south of Townsville, after significant rainfall in the 24 hours to Thursday morning.

Further rain is forecast across the area in coming days, which could cause the Haughton River to rise higher.

The Haughton was 2.63 metres above the major flood level and rising. It could reach around 2.8 metres later on Thursday, the bureau said.

It is expected to remain above the major flood level of 2.5 metres.

“Since 9am yesterday morning, there has been a continued focus of rain along the North Tropical Coast, with up to 120 millimetres for a few locations,” meteorologist Helen Reid said on Thursday.

“This adds to the widespread 200-400 millimetres across western and south-western Queensland over the past few days, with widespread 100-200 millimetres to come.”

The slow-moving low pressure system affecting Queensland is expected to move south-east towards the weekend and bring more widespread rain.

Parts of northern and eastern NSW are also in for a drenching, forecaster Weatherzone said.

NSW is in line for a soaking. Indeed, the rain has already started. In the 24 hours to 9am Thursday, falls between 25-50 millimetres occurred at numerous locations just south of the Queensland border, and in the north-east corner of NSW. Moderate falls are continuing in that area through Thursday,” it wrote on Thursday.

“That’s just a taste of what’s to come for the state as a whole. As the trough deepens and edges southwards on Friday and Saturday, a cold front (and upper trough) passing well south of mainland Australia will draw the trough over central and eastern NSW, generating widespread steady rainfall.”

The heaviest totals are forecast on Friday and Saturday, which could cause flash and riverine flooding across already wet catchments.

-with AAP