Premier Annastacia Palaszczuk has described scenes of human and physical devastation in the flood-stricken Queensland city of Ipswich, with people “crying, upset and not knowing what to do”.

Ms Palaszczuk said the emergency was now “beyond words”, as police this morning found the body of a 76-year-old Queensland man believed to have gone missing in floodwaters at Glen Esk, 60 kilometres north-west of Brisbane.

The man was found in a submerged vehicle at Paddy Gully Creek, bringing the rising death toll from the floods to 10.

“It’s going to be a long road to recovery,” Ms Palaszczuk said.

“Having just been up in Ipswich, I can tell you people are absolutely heartbroken.

“People are crying, upset and not knowing what to do.”

Around 150 houses in Logan, where there have also been reports of looting, would face serious damage in rising waters later this morning, she said.

“Once the waters recede, there is still going to be a lot of pain, heartache and a lot of help is going to be needed,” Ms Palaszczuk said.

An exasperated Ms Palaszczuk said she was “sick of these bad times”, after two years of the coronavirus pandemic.

“Now we’ve had floods across the entire south-east and up to Fraser Coast,” she said.

“I think we need a really good Easter … I think we need a big bumper tourism season over Easter.”

Queensland Police Chief Superintendent Roy Rohweder was unsure how soon assistance and supplies could be pushed into the worst-affected areas.

“We’re literally in the lap of the gods,” he said.

“It depends how quickly the water can get away.”

Chief Superintendent Rohweder said reports of looting in Logan and other areas had left him “gobsmacked”.

“I don’t know how people can prey on other people at their absolute lowest,” he said.

Flood death toll now 10

The death toll from the flood crisis now stands at 10 after the the discovery of the man in the car and a woman found in a Lismore home.

Thousands of people in Logan, south of Brisbane, face worsening floods, as rivers which peaked higher than Cyclone Debbie continue to overflow.

Major flooding – above 2017 levels – is continuing along the Logan River in Queensland.

Forecasters say the river peaked at 20.64 metres at Maclean Bridge at 8pm on Monday, just above the 2017 of 20.50 metres.

Almost 5000 people are without power, with nearly 200 roads closed.

Logan City Council said almost 20 people spent Monday at an evacuation centre, while urging locals to stay alert despite some water levels dropping.

They warned 200 homes could be “significantly impacted”.

City of Logan Mayor Darren Power said the emergency was continuing.

“Now is not the time to be complacent as we still have a long way to go,” Councillor Power said.

“We’ve got around 200 roads across the city that are either closed or affected by floodwater.

“Some will be closed for days as water recedes and Council engineers can conduct safety inspections.”

Flagstone, Jimboomba and Logan Reserve remain cut off, the Council said.

The Logan River level is likely to remain above 16m for most of Wednesday, according to the Bureau of Meteorology.

At Maclean Bridge the river has peaked at 18.54 metres and is expected to stay around 16m.

At Waterford it peaked at 11.15m — also above 11.05m in the aftermath of Debbie.

Up to 800mm of rain has fallen across the area over the past few days, with more showers and storms on the way.

Brisbane cleans up

In Brisbane, the clean-up is beginning as floods which caused havoc along the Brisbane River begin to recede.

Rural Fire Service and Fire and Rescue crews are helping assess safety.

Trains and many buses remain cancelled across the city.

The “mud army” who answered the call to help after the 2011 floods are also mobilising.

“We’re focusing all our attention now on the recovery, and the clean up, and the mud army 2.0,” Lord Mayor of Brisbane Adrian Schrinner said.

Further north in Gympie, a mammoth effort is underway to get the town back to normal.

In Goodna, Ipswich, thick mud has been left behind as water levels dropped, with silt covering cars .

Ms Palaszczuk said yesterday the state’s flood crisis eclipses those of the storms of 1974.