Sirens were sounded in Grantham in Queensland's Lockyer Valley on Monday after flood levels rose two-thirds of a metre in 20 minutes.
Grantham was devastated by floods in 2011, leaving 12 people dead and many homes destroyed.
Dozens of homes were relocated out of low-lying areas in the wake of the floods and Lockyer Valley Deputy Mayor Chris Wilson believes that kept families out of danger this week.
But other towns in the region have not been so lucky, Laidley's CBD was inundated with at least 10 businesses submerged and a yet-to-be-determined number of homes.
Part of Forest Hill has become an island for more than 12 hours after floodwaters rose quickly from the Laidley Creek which still has a minor flood warning.
Cr Wilson suspects the flood emergency has exceeded levels recorded in 2022 but came short of the 2011 and 2013 devastation.
"In the Laidley CBD, I believe it was maybe a little bit bigger than 2022," he told AAP.
Community members will be assessing the damage on Tuesday but Cr Wilson said spirits remain high despite another inundation.
Other communities like Ipswich are also breathing a sigh of relief after the Bremer River came shy of its major flood level on Monday night.
Ipswich Mayor Teresa Harding said the flood event could have been "much, much worse" despite 30 properties suspected to be flooded.
"There's families whose homes were flooded and businesses flooded but it could have been much, much worse," she told ABC News.
Recovery efforts are beginning across southeast Queensland after the impacts of ex-tropical cyclone Alfred.
Around 118,000 properties remain without power on Tuesday down from a peak of 450,000.
More than 400 schools remain closed until Q-Build and principals can do a walk-through of the buildings to make sure they are safe for students to return to.
Some residents will be picking up the trash from toppled bins after floodwaters quickly inundated their homes.
Hayden Edwards woke to water surrounding his Oxley home in the south of Brisbane and to find rubbish strewn through his yard.
"(The bins have) been flipped over and full of water and there's trash everywhere," he told AAP.
"It's terrible ... gross."
It comes after Brisbane recorded its highest daily rainfall total in 50 years on Monday, reaching almost 280mm.
Southeast Queensland is slowly returning to a sense of normality, with supermarkets, airports and select Brisbane bus services operating again while the Warrego Highway, connecting Brisbane to Toowoomba, is closed until further notice.
The Bureau of Meteorology said there is no further significant rain forecast for the Gold Coast, Brisbane or Sunshine Coast on Tuesday but the Western Downs could see thunderstorms bringing up to 30mm of rain.
"The remnants of ex-tropical cyclone Alfred have now anticipated we are on an easing trend, particularly about coastal areas, but a few showers and thunderstorms are still possible," meteorologist Helen Reid said.
South of the border, residents have returned home as evacuation orders were lifted in some northern NSW towns.
Lismore local Tina and her son Tyson had to evacuate the home they had been squatting in after escaping domestic violence and returned as quickly as they could by boat.
"Lismore was in absolute fear, they definitely were traumatised," she said.
She said that property and others on the street were part of a buyback scheme following the devastating 2022 floods and have since been occupied by people at the forefront of the nation's housing crisis.
Premier Chris Minns warned evacuation centres for 700 people must shut once warnings are lifted as they're not meant to be a long-term fix but Tina hopes the renewed attention in the emergency will lead to greater action.
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