The Australian Defence Force will be sent into south-east Queensland as storms and heavy rain continue to smash the region.

Federal Emergency Management Minister Murray Watt said 50 ADF personnel will head to the Gold Coast, Scenic Rim and Logan from Thursday.

“We know that right across those three councils there remains quite a lot of the energy network which needs replacement, power lines that are down,” he said.

“The ADF personnel will in particular be focusing on the clearance of debris to make it easier to access that infrastructure and get it repaired and reconnected.”

It came as rain tallies continued to mount and dams began to spill across the flood-hit region. There were also reports of floods running through houses in some areas, as concerns mounted on Tuesday for Brisbane and the Sunshine Coast with the dangerous weather system moving north.

There are still 11,000 homes that have been without power since storms lashed the south-east on Christmas Day.

“We know how frustrating it is, we know how difficult it is for families, in particular at this time of the year but we’re working as hard as we can to get that power restored,” Queensland Deputy Premier Cameron Dick said.

There have been 700 calls to the SES for help in the past 24 hours, with 50 people needing rescuing from flood waters.

On Monday night, 44 people were rescued from a campground inundated with floodwater in the Gold Coast hinterland. One person was transported to hospital with minor injuries.

State Disaster Coordinator Acting Deputy Commissioner Shane Chelepy said there had been 45 rescues since Monday, some of which could have been fatal.

“We’re seeing these creeks and catchments come up so fast,” he said.

“The next 24 hours I really ask the community to work with us, we’ve had no serious injuries, no loss of lives but we’re still seeing people driving into flooded roadways.

“We did a number of rescues from campgrounds where people were saying, ‘Gee the creek came up so fast, we didn’t think that was going to happen.'”

At Cedar Creek, south-west of Ormeau, more than 300 millimetres of rain had fallen in the 24 hours to 9am on Tuesday, while North Tamborine got 261 millimetres and 246 millimetres fell at Beenleigh.

Gold Coast theme parks – Movie World, Wet n Wild, Dreamworld and Whitewater World – were closed on Tuesday due to the downpour.

The Bureau of Meteorology warned that heavy rainfall and flooding could continue into Wednesday morning.

“This weather system will see the focus of it shift towards Brisbane and upwards towards the Sunshine Coast over the course of today,” meteorologist David Grant said.

“That’s where we’re probably going to see our primary flood risk during the course of today, into tonight and potentially even into early parts of Wednesday morning.”

Heavy, locally intense rainfall has been forecast for parts of the south-east, including Wide Bay and Burnett, with up to 250 millimetres possible in six-hour periods.

The weather bureau said some areas could get more than 350 millimetres in the next 24 hours.

Nindooinbah Dam, west of the Gold Coast, Leslie Harrison Dam in Brisbane’s south-east, Cedar Pocket Dam, near Gympie, and Wappa Dam on the Sunshine Coast were all spilling excess water due to the heavy rain.

A flood watch was issued for Queensland’s Capricornia and south-east coast regions late on Monday. Flood warnings also applied to the Logan, Albert, Nerang, Coomera and Paroo rivers.

Meanwhile, south of the border, rescuers have responded to at least 115 incidents in 24 hours triggered by storms and flooding in northern NSW.

Crews had completed 27 rescues in the Northern Rivers region alone since Monday although no significant injuries had been reported, the NSW State Emergency Service said.

More that 300 millimetres of rain had fallen at Limpinwood in the Tweed Valley, while falls exceeding 200 millimetres had caused flash flooding at other locations.

There was minor to moderate riverine flooding on the Tweed, Wilsons and Richmond rivers, with the most significant impact at Tumbulgum.

Minor flooding was possible again on Tuesday afternoon at Tumbulgum.

SES Assistant Commissioner Dean Storey said while Monday’s intense rain wasn’t expected to recur, the risk remained.

“Catchments in and around the northern rivers continue to see the impacts of significant rainfall over the past 24 to 48 hours, and we’re expecting flood warnings to continue across the region,” he said.

“People in the northern rivers should heed the direction of emergency services on the ground, never drive through floodwaters and avoid unnecessary travel today.”

-with AAP