Misery revisited as thousands are isolated by floodwaters

THOUSANDS of people are stranded by floodwaters in NSW and southern Queensland, and more rain is forecast for this week.

Rainfall map

THOUSANDS of people are stranded by floodwaters in NSW and southern Queensland, and more rain is forecast for this week.

The town of Dalby, 210km northwest of Brisbane, is enduring its fourth serious flood in just over two years with dozens of properties inundated.

An estimated 5000 people were isolated in northeast NSW as severe weather warnings remained in force over the Tweed and Richmond districts, and rain continued to pelt down last night.

To make matters worse, the Bureau of Meteorology was keeping tabs on a deepening monsoon trough that could form into a cyclone in the Coral Sea.

Dalby Mayor Ray Brown said people were sick of the rain, after a summer marred by fierce storms and floods that extended from north Queensland to the doorstep of Sydney.

Up to 50 properties were flooded in Dalby when Myall Creek broke its banks, hitting low-lying areas that went under in the disastrous wet season of 2010-11, when the town endured three successive floods. Mr Brown said it was not clear how many homes had water over the floorboards this time.

"I'm sure that emotions are still very raw from the last big flood. It's not a very pleasant experience," Mr Brown said.

At Chinchilla on the western Downs, Charleys Creek was rising towards a predicted peak of 5m and threatening to cause flooding in the town of 7000.

The torrential rain had emergency services scrambling to repair leaking roofs and reach people trapped by floodwaters. There were three swift-water rescues -- two in Brisbane suburbs and one in Brightview, west of the city, where six children and adults had taken refuge on the roof of a car.

In the central Queensland town of Cracow, a woman who was isolated by floodwaters and suffering chest pains had to be rescued by helicopter.

Rain is forecast to ease today in NSW and Brisbane, which has received half its average annual rainfall in two months. But the Burnett region north of the Queensland capital and coastal communities in central and north Queensland are in line for further heavy falls.

The weather bureau said there was an "increasing probability" of a cyclone forming over the Coral Sea by mid-week.

ADDITIONAL REPORTING: AAP