Premier Campbell Newman says estimates put cost of floods at more than $2.4b, more than 2011 disaster BILLIONS of dollars worth of repairs completed on Queensland's damaged public infrastructure after the 2010-11 floods will have to be redone. 6.47pm: Premier Campbell Newman says he can guarantee the safety of drinking water in Rockhampton despite expressing concern about unauthorised releases from a disused gold mine. Controlled water releases have occurred from the Mount Morgan mine into the Dee River. Rockhampton Regional Council has previously expressed concern about contaminated water flowing from the Dee system into the Fitzroy River, which flows through the city. Heavy rainfall from ex-tropical cyclone Oswald has caused more water to be released than anticipated. Asked about the unauthorised release of water, Mr Newman told reporters in Rockhampton: "It is a concern." Still, the premier said controlled releases of water from the abandoned mine site would not have any adverse environmental impact. Footage from the NINE News helicopter shows the true devastation brought to Bundaberg by the floods "I guarantee it because the discharges that are occurring right now, as a trial, I stress as a trial, are subject to full, comprehensive monitoring from the Department of Environment and Heritage Protection," Mr Newman said. I'm very confident ... there'll be not one discernible impact at all that is measurable. We will not compromise the drinking water supplies of people in central Queensland, particularly Rockhampton. It's an unequivocal commitment. About 300 megalitres of water from Mount Morgan mine was last week released into the Dee River, by the Department of Natural Resources and Mines, ahead of heavy rainfall, the Morning Bulletin in Rockhampton reports 3.39pm: THE damage bill from the Queensland floods is expected to pass even the astronomical cost of the 2011 disaster. AFTERMATH: A massive hole in a road after flooding at Bundaberg. Picture: Channel 9 Visiting Rockhampton on Thursday afternoon as the beef capital braces for a flood peak tomorrow, Queensland Premier Campbell Newman said early estimates put the cost of the floods at more than $2.4 billion, the cost of the devastating floods of two years ago. "We are grappling with a number of catastrophic issues around the state," he said. It has been an extremely damaging event and I can tell you today that early estimates put the damage bill at, at least $2.4 billion. Sadly I think that figure will rise. The 2011 flood was widely regarded as the most devastating in Queensland history, but Mr Newman said the current crisis could be even worse, albeit with less loss of life. When you see what has happened in Bundaberg you will be blown away and I am sure all Queenslanders will be blown away. Qld's flood death toll is at six after police located the bodies of two men near Gatton in Lockyer Valley. We are still only just beginning to discover the extent of the damage in many areas. We will need the full support of the Federal government as what needs to happen is the money needs to flow. He urged all Australians to give generously in flood appeal relief, but acknowledged some would find it hard to give after experiencing their own hardships. I know many people have been affected by these disasters quite severely, but I know there are even more people that haven't been affected. I would urge those that have given before to dig deep and give again. A peak of 8.5m is expected to hit Rockhampton by late Friday or early Saturday morning. AFTERMATH: A house sits on a road after flooding in Bundaberg ripped the building from its foundations. 3pm: PRIME Minister Julia Gillard says she's seen remarkable sights in a visit to communities ravaged by the one-in-200-year flood that hit Queensland. Ms Gillard on Thursday visited the city of Bundaberg and the townships of Burnett Heads and Bargara, which were smashed by tornadoes at the weekend. "We've seen some remarkable sights," Ms Gillard said. This is a once-in-a-200-year flood. It's been good to see with my own eyes and hear from the community their own stories. 12.58pm: RESIDENTS in Bundaberg, Maryborough and Hervey Bay will be without access to natural gas, when the APA Pipeline is shut off this afternoon due to flood damage. A distraught resident takes in the damage to his home in Bundaberg. Pic: Getty Images The APA Wide Bay Pipeline began to close off supply in Bundaberg and surrounding regions this morning, after crews were unable to access damaged pipelines due to floodwater. Based on current usage, residents will have enough supply in the pipelines until this afternoon. Residents are advised gas supply may be offline for several days, but if they need to make alternative emergency arrangements they are urged to call their gas provider. 12.55pm: RESIDENTS of Gilmore street in the southern Brisbane suburb of Tarragindi have been without power since Sunday. Approximately 8 houses are still without power after a gum tree brought down power lines. "Energex crews have been out to clean up and were supposed to fix it, but it hasn't seemed to work," said long-term resident Melissa Nicole. This house floated from North Bundaberg and ended up in Queen St. Pic Mark Calleja Residents have been regularly calling Energex for updates but have received mixed responses. "Every day they say it will be on again by 1.30pm the next day," said Mrs Nicole. Currently they are saying it should be fixed by 3am tomorrow morning. 12.34pm: DOZENS of homes in Mt Tamborine could be without power until at least tomorrow as fallen trees continue to hamper restoration efforts. As of this morning, Energex said they were working hard to reconnect 3,000 properties in the Scenic Rim region, which includes Mt Tamborine, but admitted it could "take a while" because of access issues. "There is a lot of work to be done but it has been difficult as there are a lot of trees down which is making it very hard for our crews to get in and fix the problem," an Energex spokeswoman said. The sun rises over flooded streets in Bundaberg. We are hoping for power to be restored tomorrow at the earliest - but potentially it could take longer. We understand it's difficult without power but there are extenuating conditions. We thank people for their patience as crews continue to work until power is back on. Scenic Rim mayor John Brent confirmed there had been "unrest" as some in the community faced their fifth day without power. "It's hard because many people are not used to being without energy for this length of time, especially in an urban environment," he said. Cr Brent said Mt Tamborine is heavily vegetated and it was time to review trimming trees near the main supply line. "We need to critically examine the issue of vegetation management without encroaching on community expectations," he said. Thousands of people across Queensland are spending the night in evacuation centres because of flooding. This is no criticism of Energex but clearly this event demonstrates that we need to look forward at how we should manage these issues in the future. Cr Brent said portable toilets had been trucked in to the Mt Tamborine showgrounds and bottled water was also made available. He said the town had been "a little low" on food but businesses were beginning to get back on their feet. 12.25pm: PRIME Minister Julia Gillard has begun touring flood ravaged Bundaberg after meeting with local disaster authorities and the Defence Force recovery taskforce. Ms Gillard briefly glimpsed the devastated northern side of the river which has the most damage. She is now on her way to Port Bundaberg and Bargara, which were hit by tornadoes. It was a humid, hazy, morning on the Gold Coast with wild seas whipping up the foam and causing more erosion. 10.13am: QUEENSLAND'S second highest ranking police officer, deputy commissioner Brett Pointing, has been appointed to lead the state's disaster recovery and rebuilding. Premier Campbell Newman made the announcement in flood-ravaged Bundaberg, amid warnings that bodies may yet be found in the hardest hit suburb of North Bundaberg. It's believed up to 20 North Bundaberg houses may have been washed away, moved or broken apart when fast-moving waters swept through on Monday. The suburb remains an exclusion zone. Disaster personnel are planning to survey the area for safety and inspect for dead bodies before anyone will be allowed in. Mr Newman said DC Pointing would have a "massive job" rebuilding homes, businesses, roads, bridges and essential services. The town of Bundaberg hit by floods. He would oversee government and non-government agencies tasked with delivering services and rebuilding. DC Pointing has a 30-year background in policing and rose to be Rockhampton's district inspector, the Gold Coast's district officer, assistant commissioner and now Deputy Commissioner. He has taken leadership roles in previous floods - including executive officer to the 2010-11 state disaster coordination group, and he played a pivotal role in coordinating the police response. 8.15am: QUEENSLANDERS waking anxiously to the sound of rain this morning have no reason to fear another flood event, says the Bureau of Meteorology. Senior Forecaster Michelle Berry said Brisbane is expected to see a small number of showers during the next couple of days but nothing like the persistent rainfall that caused the floods earlier this week. Severe storms and wind gusts are expected out west in Toowoomba, Roma and Charleville and residents are urged to be aware and watch for any warnings. Watch the Brisbane River rise due to the ongoing flooding problems around the state. But Ms Berry said the bureau did not expect to see any river flooding. 7.53am: QUEENSLAND Urban Utilities have confirmed Brisbane water supplies are now secure, but still urge residents to conserve water until restrictions have been lifted by local council. A spokesperson from QUU said water production at the Mt Crosby Water Treatment Plant has returned to normal and SEQwater have now secured supply for the greater Brisbane area. QUU is still cautioning residents to conserve water in case of any further production issues. 7.45am: More than 11,000 homes are still without power through South-East Queensland this morning. An Engergex spokesperson has confirmed areas of Logan, Mt Nebo, Lockyer Valley, and areas around the Gold Coast are still experiencing power outages. Energex has deployed more than 400 crews to work through a list of suburbs still without power but have no estimate of when outages will be fixed at this stage. Heavy damage, vegetation and poor access still remain an issue for recovery crews. Any residents with localised outages are urged to contact Energex on 13 62 62. 7.30am: A QUAINT church building and two houses appear to have been washed away in the floods that hit North Bundaberg this week. Older Satellite maps of Hinkler Avenue show there used to be 13 buildings lining the eastern side of the street, between Gavegan Street and Federation Park. But new aerials from the floods reveal three gaping holes where the church and two weatherboard houses should be. One of the houses washed up against a street lamp post several hundred metres away in Queen Street. Locals say the ex-Methodist church was sometimes used as a drama hall. Authorities had feared houses would be swept away when the Burnett River broke its northern bank on Monday, which forced a mass evacuation. North Bundaberg residents are waiting to hear when they will be allowed to cross the river and inspect their homes, as the water rapidly recedes. 6am: ENERGEX says there are still about 18,000 homes and businesses in the southeast without power on Thursday morning, some now entering their fifth day without electricity. There are about 4,000 affected properties in Brisbane, 2,000 in Logan, 4,000 on the Gold Coast and the remainder scattered across the region. Overnight, it was reported that the massive scale of this week's flood crisis was only now beginning to emerge. Not only have thousands of homes been inundated, almost 5000km of roads damaged, and entire farms literally washed away, but the death toll is now at six, with the discovery yesterday of the bodies of two men near Laidley. And as the muddy waters began to recede across large parts of the state yesterday, the flood crisis was not over. In Rockhampton, nervous residents are waiting on a flood now set to hit tomorrow afternoon. In Condamine, supplies were being stockpiled last night in anticipation of a flood likely to cut off the town for a week. Other communities still face being cut off for weeks or even months, and will have to rely on helicopters for resupplies. Premier Campbell Newman yesterday said that while the damage bill from the state's latest clash with Mother Nature was not yet known, he vowed that no time would be wasted in starting work to rebuild. "This is going to be a long, drawn-out process but the Government will deliver," Mr Newman said. The Premier vowed to "do my darnedest" to ensure the construction of flood mitigation dams and levees to protect flood-prone towns and cities. And he called on local governments to ensure that town-planning policies were more conscious of the flood risk. Latest list of school closures "We are going to go back and do it and maybe there will be ways to actually do it in a better way this time," Mr Newman said. He also announced a flood appeal committee to oversee the distribution of disaster relief funds. Local Government Minister David Crisafulli said it was clear another monumental task now faced affected communities, their councils, and the State Government. "It is going to take a mountain of effort," Mr Crisafulli said. The army was yesterday trucking in food and water to the flooded communities of Oakwood, Gayndah and Mundubbera. Some farmers expect to be without an income for at least six months, while consumers face shortages of basic foods such as tomatoes, potatoes and leaf crops as the hardest hit areas were the high-producing foodbowls of Boonah, Kalbar, the Lockyer Valley, Mundubbera, Gayndah and Bundaberg. Already 25,000 insurance claims have been lodged, and the state faces its second multibillion-dollar repair bill in just two years. Some of the infrastructure damaged has only just been repaired after the floods of 2010-11. In the southeast, 40,000 homes and businesses were still without power last night and there was still a threat some Brisbane suburbs might run dry as the city's main water treatment plants at Mt Crosby continued to struggle to filter the muddy floodwaters. In hardest-hit North Bundaberg, the record flood rapidly receded yesterday - exposing cars, boats and fridges lodged high up trees and roads washed away. On one street, three buildings appear to have vanished. More than 200 soldiers arrived last night to begin the clean-up. They will spend today making urgent repairs to roads and bridges, clearing stormwater drains and helping restart sewage treatment plants, and will stay as long as required. Prime Minister Julia Gillard will tour Bundaberg today. About 1500 homes are believed to have been flooded in North Bundaberg. Hundreds are expected to remain uninhabitable. There are still estimated to be 7500 displaced Bundaberg residents. Lyn Baker was among the first North Bundaberg residents who were able to return to their homes yesterday. Water was dripping out of the wedding photos as she looked up with tired eyes and shrugged: "We just didn't think it would get us here." Her lowset home in North Bundaberg was at least 1km from the Burnett River, and had been high and dry in the flood that caused chaos in the sugar city only two years ago. But when the 64-year-old and her husband of six years, Phil, 60, returned yesterday it was evidence the unprecedented 9.5m flood had definitely got them. Every time Lyn picked up something from a cupboard, it dripped with water and mud. The photos were the most precious, left behind as they fled their home as evacuation orders were issued. The couple had already pulled up all the carpet and friends were helping sweep out the "dirty, disgusting mud" from the home. One of the friends, Bruce Potter, had helped all day on Sunday night ferrying people who were stranded in their homes in North Bundaberg. His dinghy has a 75 horsepower engine but at times it couldn't compete against the flood. "There was that much water running across the roads it was like rapids," he said. I couldn't get the boat up, because you're going up the rapids and the boat's sucked down. No wonder there's a house sitting in the middle of Queen Street. Sure enough, in the middle of one of the main roads leading to the Burnett Bridge and to the main part of town is a house that has been swept off its stumps. The old weatherboard house is crumpled, but largely intact and has come to rest up against street lights. It is understood to be one of three buildings missing from Hinkler Ave, about 200m away. The Courier-Mail was flown into North Bundaberg on an army Black Hawk, making it the first media team on the ground in North Bundaberg, which is still cut off from the main part of town. A large washout on the north side of the other bridge into town, the Don Tallon Bridge, is expected to keep it closed for at least a few days. At the airport before going up in the air to survey his city, Mayor Mal Forman, said there were about 1500 houses on the northside that were flood affected. "I'm very proud of our people," he said. They are showing so much fortitude, so much community spirit, I know for a fact that out of adversity will come strength. Reporting by Jeremy Pierce, Leisa Scott, Kelmeny Fraser, Kathleen Donaghey, Caitlin Drysdale and Jacinda Tutty