Flood-hit communities soaked by a monsoonal downpour are on alert for more danger amid volatile conditions as another state watches for a possible tropical cyclone.
Heavy falls hit northern Queensland after a brief reprieve, with coastal and inland centres including Townsville, Cardwell and Ingham in the firing line.
Bureau of Meteorology senior meteorologist Myriam Bradbury said 24-hour rainfall totals could reach up to 250mm.
Major flood warnings have been issued, with fears swollen rivers could spill over and create even more dangerous conditions.
The flood warnings come as communities in northern Western Australia remain on watch for a possible tropical cyclone.
A tropical low is expected to move along the Kimberley coast on Sunday, whipping up damaging gusts of up to 100km/h.
The low could reach tropical cyclone intensity late on Sunday or early Monday as it heads towards Broome and the Pilbara, bringing widespread falls.
Heavy rain in Queensland in the past week forced hundreds of people to evacuate their homes and left communities without power.
A major bridge in the town of Ingham was washed away, with the Australian Defence Force called in to make a temporary one to get crucial supplies into the town.
Some residents have started to return to flood-ravaged homes, with more than 4000 storm and flood-related insurance claims so far.
The total damage bill is unknown.
Some $8 million is available for affected residents through the Commonwealth's community relief fund while Queensland Premier David Crisafulli is pushing for federal support to lift bridges above flood level along the Bruce Highway.
Queensland Reconstruction Authority chief executive Jake Ellwood warned the clean-up would be hard, with an enormous toll on the mental health of affected people expected in addition to physical and economic impacts.
"Recovery and reconstruction is not a days and weeks event - it is
months and years," the retired Major General told reporters in Townsville.
It came as communications issues during the 2023/24 severe weather season came into sharp focus as part of a probe by the Queensland Office of the Inspector-General of Emergency Management.
There were some 12 disasters during that time including bushfires, severe storms, cyclones and flooding.
The review found a perceived lack of co-ordination and communication, including confusion over evacuations and rare instances of people being left behind or ignored.
That included when 18 people on the roof of a hotel at Rossville, near Cooktown, could not get onto local authorities and instead were forced to rely on a backpacker’s satellite phone and social media posts to contact their relatives in Scotland.
